Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino has issued a strong rebuttal to reality television star Kim Kardashian's recent claim that the historic 1969 moon landing was faked. The veteran spacefarer, in an interview with ANI, stated there is "no way to fake" one of humanity's greatest achievements, dismissing the long-running conspiracy theory.
Massimino's Firm Rejection of Conspiracy Theories
Addressing the doubts raised by Kardashian on her show 'The Kardashians' in October, Massimino acknowledged that the Apollo 11 mission's success was so monumental it seemed unbelievable. "I think that might be part of it. You know, people, there's always people that are going to doubt... But it did happen. It might be hard to believe, but it actually did happen," he told ANI on December 7.
He emphasized that the sheer scale of the operation made deception impossible. The Apollo program involved approximately 400,000 people from around the world, not just the United States. Massimino argued that coordinating such a massive global conspiracy without a single whistleblower is inconceivable. "None of them have said that it was fake," he pointed out, highlighting the complete lack of evidence supporting the fake landing narrative.
Kim Kardashian's Controversial Claim
The controversy stems from an episode of 'The Kardashians' that aired on October 30. During filming for 'All's Fair', Kim Kardashian expressed her disbelief in the Apollo 11 mission to co-star Sarah Paulson, stating, "I think it was fake," as reported by People magazine. This public endorsement of the conspiracy theory brought the decades-old debate back into the spotlight, prompting a response from the scientific and astronaut community.
A Global Achievement, Not Just an American One
Massimino passionately described the moon landing as a defining moment for all of humanity, not just a national victory. "It was a great achievement, not only for the United States, but for the whole world. It might be the greatest achievement ever that people accomplished," he noted.
He recalled the global celebration that followed, citing the astronauts' world tour. "When they went to India — it was never 'the Americans did it.' It was 'we did it.' The whole world felt like they accomplished that." This shared sense of triumph, he implied, is part of what makes the mission authentically historic.
The former astronaut did not mince words about the impact of such conspiracy theories, calling them "disrespectful" to the astronauts and the hundreds of thousands of engineers, scientists, and workers who made the mission a reality. "We should celebrate the accomplishment rather than make up things that it didn't happen. It actually kind of annoys me a little bit," Massimino concluded, urging the public to honor the facts of this unparalleled human endeavor.
