The return of manned exploration to the Moon is not without turbulence. As soon as the first images and interviews with the crew of Artemis II were released, a small conspiratorial section of social networks was ignited. At issue: the brightness of the hidden side of the Moon, which some Internet users brandish as proof of a staging. Before seeing the hand of a Hollywood studio, it is enough to recall some basic notions of astronomy, which IFL Science did in an article.
The heart of the incomprehension lies in a widely used expression, that of the “dark side of the Moon”. Widespread in popular culture, it suggests that the lunar hemisphere that we never see from Earth is permanently plunged into darkness. This is incorrect: the Moon rotates synchronously with the Earth and always presents the same face to us, but it rotates on itself in relation to the Sun. Each point on its surface therefore experiences, as on Earth, a day/night alternation.
To visualize the phenomenon, you just need to remember the lunar phases. When we observe a new moon – the side facing the Earth is then in shadow – the opposite side, called “hidden”, is in broad daylight. During the Artemis II flyby, the Sun/Moon/ship geometry meant that nearly 20% of this face was directly illuminated, as NASA indicated before the maneuver. In other words, no artificial light was needed.
The controversy was, however, amplified by certain widely followed figures, such as Naomi Wolf, an American conspiracy personality, who publicly questioned the origin of this luminosity. The answer, however, is purely astronomical: it is the Sun which illuminates the lunar surface, as it has done for billions of years.
A CNN bug
Another sequence fueled the suspicions of network conspirators. During a live interview with the crew, a small object floating in the cabin – a microgravity indicator designed by a child and carried on board – appeared to pass behind a strip of text embedded on the screen. Some saw this as evidence of green screen filming and botched editing. In reality, this is an artifact linked to the graphics tools used by CNN to dress up the image, not a defect in the images provided by NASA.
watched this clip – zoom in, bro. Pure green screen bullshit. Same exact fabric they use on movie sets. Artemis? Fake as hell. They never went up there. Whole thing’s a staged circus and we’re the idiots paying for it. Truth’s buried under layers of CGI and lies. Wake up, man. pic.twitter.com/ArdlLxY4ZR
— Mr. Udini (@udinisol) April 5, 2026
News channels use several layers of digital processing (overlays, banners, transparency effects) applied in real time. An inappropriate setting can give the impression that an element of the image goes behind the graphics, when it is simply a bug in the control room. The space agency’s raw sequences do not present these anomalies, as several verification and scientific popularization sites have pointed out.
“There’s no need for a green screen when you’re heading towards the real Moon”sums up IFL Science with irony, which will obviously not convince the most seasoned conspiracy theorists who had formed a conviction long before the rocket took off.
Each major stage of space exploration has given rise to its share of doubts and alternative narratives, from the Apollo missions to Artemis II – and as is often the case, the elements put forward reflect a total ignorance of how our world works.
