See Why a Clip of an Astronaut Dropping a Ball in Space Has Reignited a Conspiracy Theory

There are so many conspiracy theories floating around that it's hard to keep track. Especially in the age of AI, it's incredibly easy to fake things, casting doubt upon what is and isn't real. That's why when an older conspiracy theory is reignited, it's so much more interesting. Cover-ups took a lot more effort back in the day, and conspiracy theories were based on acute observations and inside knowledge, rather than fake images that have gone viral.

Well, here's a throwback to one of the original conspiracy theories, and it's a good one! There's a viral clip circulating in which an astronaut drops a ball while in space. See what it is about this video that's reignited the classic conspiracy theory that humans have never actually gone to space. Before you say it, no, this clip is not AI-generated. It's totally real, and completely shocking!

On April 22, 2021, NASA live-streamed an Earth Day video from the International Space Station. Despite the clip existing on the internet for years, it's recently gone viral again thanks to the Artemis II space mission, which launched on April 1, 2026. It wouldn't be a decent space mission without conspiracy theories about the moon landing being fake and humans never going to space at all. Well, this one was no different, as the renewed interest in space has people reexamining the 2021 clip.

In this video, astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mark Vandehei, Soichi Noguchi, and Michael Hopkins are chatting while the latter is holding a ball resembling the Earth. At one point, Michael drops the ball, which then descends out of the camera's view. "Drops" is the operative word here, as the ball does just that, despite supposedly being in space where there's no gravitational force.

Naturally, conspiracy theorists were on the case! The video's comments included, "Wow.. They f--ked up." Another person wrote, "They never went to space ... Never will either. Not in any lifetime." A third echoed, "If that doesn't tell you it's all fake, nothing will." Some people even theorized that Michael dropped the ball on purpose, in order to expose NASA's lies to the public. People also noted the other astronauts' reactions, describing them as "panicked."

While the video is 100 percent real, it's been shortened and is therefore lacking the full context. If you watch the full clip — not just the part that's gone viral — you'll see that the ball does float back up shortly after dropping down. As to why it went downward at all, if you watch the clip again and focus on Mike's arm, you can see that he pushed the ball downward. So, it wasn't gravity that made the ball drop; the ball was pushed. Even then, it did eventually float back up.

Even with the longer clip making the rounds on social media, some people remain unconvinced. Comments on the explanation video include, "The ball came back mysteriously and became larger." A second TikToker echoed, "That was not enough force to push that ball down, and for it to disappear for that long, then resurface." Meanwhile, a third person simply wrote, "Stop the lies." Once again, people noted the astronauts' reactions as evidence that they were worried they'd been exposed.

While we enjoy a good conspiracy theory — especially one that's stood the test of time — we don't think this particular clip is convincing evidence that humans have never been to space. Honestly, it wasn't NASA who fumbled here. Rather, it was the people who knowingly shared the shortened clip who dropped the ball.