NASA has responded to Kim Kardashian's claim of a "fake" moon landing

This week, US space agency NASA issued a public rebuttal to popular TV presenter and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, who claimed in a new episode of The Kardashiansz show that the legendary moon landing "did not happen".

"Yes, we've been to the moon. And not just once - six times!"," NASA acting head Sean Duffy wrote on social network X, tagging Kardashian in his post.

The strong reaction was prompted by snippets of a new episode of the reality show, where Kardashian tells actress Sarah Paulson about "articles with Buzz Aldrin and that second one," claiming that the astronaut himself also allegedly admitted that "nothing happened."

"It wasn't scary because it didn't happen," she quotes Aldrin's alleged phrase.

Exactly which interviews or sources Kardashian was referring to is not specified. It is also unknown whether Aldrin actually made such statements. He has previously been targeted by supporters of conspiracy theories, and reportedly punched a man in 2022 who accused him of participating in a "moon hoax."

Later in a conversation with the show's producers, Kardashian reiterated that the mission was "fake", referring to "several videos of Aldrin saying the whole thing was faked".

NASA has strongly denied such claims. Duffy stressed that the agency is preparing for a new chapter of lunar exploration through the Artemis programme, an international initiative involving Europe, Japan and Canada.

"We won the last space race and we will win this one too", he wrote and invited Kardashian to personally visit the launch pad at Kennedy Space Centre.

The Apollo 11 mission, during which astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon on 20 July 1969, has remained the target of attacks from conspiracy theorists for decades. However, it has now been confirmed by multiple independent sources, including video footage, lunar soil samples, and data obtained by other countries.

NASA officials recall that American astronauts have made six successful landings on the Moon as part of the Apollo programme, and the next landing - in the 21st century - is planned as part of Artemis.