A resurfaced video of the Artemis II crew has reignited long-running conspiracy theories that question whether humans ever set foot on the moon. A short excerpt featuring Commander Reid Wiseman went viral this week, prompting a new wave of claims that NASA has been deceptive about the Apollo programme.

In the now-circulating 25-second clip, Wiseman is heard saying: "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 seized on the remark, insisting it amounted to an admission that the original moon landings were falsified, an allegation NASA has repeatedly rejected.

However, the fragment was lifted from a much longer discussion recorded in September 2025, during which Wiseman explicitly acknowledged the Apollo missions. His full comments clarify that he was referring to the beginning of a new era of lunar exploration, not the first human journey to the moon. 

Clip taken out of context fuels old claims

The short video spread rapidly across social media, accompanied by posts declaring that NASA had “finally confessed” to staging the Apollo missions. One user wrote: "That's the confession right there. They lied about the moon landing."

Another asked: "What timeline am I on for them to openly admit this is the first time sending humans to the moon?"

The controversy overlooks remarks Wiseman made earlier in the same session. Roughly 20 minutes prior to the viral comment, he stated: "We have been to the moon in Apollo." He went on to add: "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."

Wiseman then explained that Artemis II offers new opportunities to observe the moon, including flying past the far side, an area not viewed by astronauts during Apollo landings on the illuminated side.

What Artemis II will do

The Artemis II mission, launched this week, marks the first crewed journey toward the moon since 1972 and the first time astronauts will travel beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years. The four-member crew, Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will undertake a 10-day loop around the moon.

According to NASA, the spacecraft is expected to travel around 250,000 miles from Earth, exceeding the distance reached by Apollo 13 in 1970. The crew will soar up to 6,000 miles above the lunar surface and view parts of the far side that even earlier lunar explorers did not witness. At that distance, NASA says the moon will appear about the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.

While Artemis II will not involve a landing, the mission is designed to test systems and pave the way for future surface expeditions.

Revived Buzz Aldrin clips stir further confusion

The resurfaced Wiseman snippet has also revived misrepresented videos of Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. A 2000 appearance on The Conan O’Brien Show has long circulated as supposed proof of a hoax. Responding to the host’s childhood memory of watching the landing, Aldrin said: "No, you didn't. There wasn't any television, there wasn't anyone taking a picture. You watched an animation."

Though frequently miscast as a denial, Aldrin was referring to the broadcast animations used by networks to supplement limited live footage.

Another widely shared clip from 2015 shows Aldrin telling a child: "Because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened." The video cuts off before he clarifies that shifting government priorities and financial constraints stopped further missions.

Aldrin later elaborated: "We need to know why something stopped in the past if we want it to keep going. It's a matter of resources and money; new missions need new equipment."

Conspiracies extend to pop culture

The debate even resurfaced in 2025 when reality-TV star Kim Kardashian questioned the moon landing during an episode of The Kardashians. Speaking to actor Sarah Paulson on set, Kardashian referenced past Aldrin interviews and concluded: "So, I think it didn't happen." Paulson replied that she would go on a “deep dive”.

The sequence aired one day after the death of Aldrin’s wife and prompted a response from then-acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy. Sharing the clip online, he tagged Kardashian and wrote: "we've been to the moon before – 6 times!"

Doubts about the Apollo missions first emerged in the mid-1970s, a period marked by deep public mistrust after Watergate and the release of the Pentagon Papers. Claims of suspicious lighting, unusual shadows and supposedly inconsistent interviews have endured for decades, despite what scientists describe as overwhelming physical and historical evidence, including telemetry records, moon rocks and corroborating testimony from thousands who worked on the missions.

Where to watch Artemis II Moon flyby live?

NASA’s Artemis II mission is poised to reach its most dramatic moment yet, with the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft preparing for a sweeping flyby of the Moon, an event that will be streamed live on multiple platforms, including Netflix.

The lunar pass, expected to last nearly seven hours, is scheduled to begin at about 6:45 p.m. GMT (12:15 a.m. IST on Tuesday) and wrap up around 1:20 a.m. GMT. Audiences worldwide will be able to watch the operation unfold through NASA’s website, YouTube, Amazon and Netflix, accompanied by live commentary from the astronauts and mission control teams in Houston, Texas.