More than 50 years after the first moon landing, conspiracy theories claiming it was faked have resurfaced following NASA's decision to delay its Artemis missions. The space agency announced that Artemis II, a lunar fly-by, is postponed to September 2025, and Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the moon, will not occur until September 2026. The delays have sparked a wave of scepticism on social media.
On X (formerly Twitter), users questioned NASA's ability to return to the moon, with one writing: 'It seems like they can't figure out how they did it the first time.' Another commented: 'They're never going to fake another "moon landing".' Some posts claimed the delays prove the original Apollo 11 landing was staged, with one user calling it 'one of the biggest frauds in human history'.
The moon landing hoax theory dates back to a 1976 book by Bill Kaysing titled 'We Never Went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle'. Proponents argue that the US faked the landing to win the space race, citing alleged flaws in photos and footage. Some even claim director Stanley Kubrick was involved, referencing his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Despite the resurgence of these claims, experts note that none have any factual basis. X's community notes feature corrected one post that shared supposed 'behind the scenes' footage, identifying it as a clip from the 2018 film First Man. NASA has cited safety concerns for the delays, emphasising the complexity of modern lunar missions.
