NASA claps back after Kim Kardashian claims Moon landing 'didn’t happen'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: NASA has firmly rejected Kim Kardashian’s claim that the historic 1969 Moon landing was faked, after the reality star floated the conspiracy theory on the latest episode of 'The Kardashians.'

In the episode, which aired this week, the 43-year-old SKIMS founder told co-star Sarah Paulson that she didn’t believe the United States ever landed astronauts on the Moon. Kardashian’s comments quickly ignited backlash online, prompting a rare public response from the US space agency.

Kim Kardashian claims Moon landing didn’t happen on 'The Kardashians'

During the episode, Kardashian showed Paulson what appeared to be an interview clip with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who, along with Neil Armstrong, took the first steps on the lunar surface during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission in 1969.

“I’m sending you a million articles with both Buzz Aldrin and the other one,” Kardashian said, before reading what she claimed was a quote from Aldrin: “There was no scary moment because it didn’t happen. It could’ve been scary, but it wasn’t because it didn’t happen.”

It remains unclear what source Kardashian was referencing or whether the quote was authentic. Moments later, she doubled down on her belief, telling a producer, “I center conspiracies all the time. I think it was fake. I’ve seen a few videos on Buzz Aldrin talking about how it didn’t happen. Maybe we should find Buzz Aldrin.”

NASA hits back with sharp response

Shortly after the episode aired, Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator, tagged Kardashian on X, writing, “Yes, we’ve been to the Moon before… six times!”

Duffy also promoted NASA’s ongoing Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon under the leadership of President Donald Trump. “We won the last space race and we will win this one too,” he added.

In an unexpected turn, Kardashian responded to Duffy’s post not with an apology, but with curiosity about another cosmic topic. “Wait… what’s the tea on 3I Atlas?!?!!!!!!!?????” she replied, referencing an interstellar comet astronomers have identified as possibly the oldest ever seen.

Duffy later invited Kardashian to visit the Kennedy Space Center to witness the upcoming Artemis launch firsthand.

Experts debunk Moon landing conspiracies again

For over five decades, NASA and the broader scientific community have repeatedly dismissed claims that the Moon landings were staged.

“Every single argument claiming that NASA faked the Moon landings has been discredited,” the Institute of Physics reaffirmed, noting that photographic evidence, lunar samples, and telemetry data all conclusively prove the missions were real.

Despite widespread documentation and six successful lunar missions between 1969 and 1972, Moon landing conspiracy theories have persisted, particularly in the social media era, where viral misinformation spreads rapidly.