Why conspiracy theorists

Blue Origin’s recent all-women spaceflight, which included singer Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sánchez, has sparked conspiracy theories online. The mission, launched on April 14 from West Texas, marked the first all-female crew in space since 1963. Despite official footage and reports confirming the launch, skeptics began circulating an image of someone in a capsule wearing a blue jumpsuit, claiming it showed a “fake hand” and lacked re-entry burn marks. Social media users suggested the mission was staged, pointing to the image as supposed proof.

However, the viral image wasn’t from the recent mission at all. It actually dates back to a 2017 Blue Origin test flight involving a mannequin named “Mannequin Skywalker.” This test was part of Blue Origin’s early trials of its New Shepard capsule. The shiny, seemingly artificial hand seen in the photo belongs to the mannequin, not a human passenger. The photo’s reuse out of context led to the false claims. Once again, conspiracy theorists jumped to conclusions without checking the facts—better luck next time.