A video of Artemis II crew talking about the moon months before this week's historic launch has sparked online conspiracy theories suggesting the Apollo missions were faked. A clip of Commander Reid Wiseman has gone viral, where he says, "This is the first time we're going to send humans to the moon and, at the same time, have humans in low Earth orbit."
Conspiracy theorists quickly latched onto the comment, treating it as proof that earlier lunar missions never happened. One X user even wrote, "That's the confession right there. They lied about the moon landing." The moon landing conspiracy theory has been in circulation since the project was launched.
Moon Landing Conspiracy Theory Continues
The moon landing conspiracy theory suggests that NASA staged the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972, claiming they were filmed in a studio to win the Space Race against the Soviet Union. However, the viral 25-second clip was taken out of context.
In the full video, Wiseman clearly acknowledged the Apollo missions and explained that he was referring to Artemis II as the first crewed mission of a new era of lunar exploration.
The Artemis II mission, which launched on Tuesday, will be the first time humans travel toward the moon since the Apollo program and the first mission to go beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. They are set to embark on a 10-day journey around the moon and return to Earth.
During the mission, the astronauts are expected to travel about 250,000 miles from Earth by April 6, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 back in 1970.
NASA has consistently maintained the Apollo missions were genuine, pointing to telemetry data, moon rocks, and the work of thousands of engineers and scientists—though some skeptics still question it.
Reacting to the clip of Wiseman, one X user wrote: "What timeline am I on for them to openly admit this is the first time sending humans to the moon?" The remarks were made on September 24, 2025, when the crew was still months away from their mission.
Proving It Wrong
Notably, about 20 minutes before the widely debated comment, Wiseman had said: "We have been to the moon in Apollo." "So when we go to the training and talk about us looking at the moon and all the things we can bring in, in the back of my mind and in the back of yours, we have been there. We orbited the moon, we have seen these things before, and what does Artemis II bring that is new to us, then, based as we fly around the moon."
He went on to clarify that Artemis II will fly past the far side of the moon.
"[That is] just because Apollo [has] always landed on the lit side of the moon," said Wiseman.
The clip has also brought renewed attention to other misleading or edited videos, including ones featuring Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, that seem to suggest similar claims.
During a 2000 appearance on the Conan O'Brien Show, Aldrin surprised the audience when the host mentioned watching the moon landing as a child.
"No, you didn't," Aldrin replied. "There wasn't any television, there wasn't anyone taking a picture. You watched an animation."
The moment left O'Brien momentarily speechless and has since gone viral. In reality, Aldrin was referring to the animated visuals broadcasters used at the time, which were mixed in with actual footage of the event.
