After 53 Years: Why is NASA (Artemis II) Suddenly Obsessed with the Far Side of the Moon?

Daniel Wood
2026-02-04T21:00:58-05:00

After 53 years of silence, the Moon is suddenly the most contested territory in the solar system. While NASA prepares for the historic Artemis II flyby this March, a new Space Race is unfolding in the shadows—one that isn't just about planting flags. From the strategic high ground of "Cislunar Space" to the trillion-dollar energy promise of Helium-3, the Far Side of the Moon has become a magnet for military urgency and high strangeness. Are we returning to satisfy scientific curiosity, or are we racing to investigate the anomalous structures and "industrial activity" once reported by CIA-funded psychics? We explore the official mission and the dark reality waiting on the lunar horizon.

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Opinion | High Strangeness & Space Politics

Executive Summary

For half a century, the Moon was "been there, done that." NASA ignored it for 53 years, claiming we lost the technology or the budget. Suddenly, in 2026, the rush is back on. Artemis II is scheduled to launch this March, sending four astronauts further than any human has ever gone—swinging around the mysterious Far Side of the Moon. Is this just about science? Or is it a desperate scramble to beat China to the "high ground," secure Helium-3 energy reserves, or perhaps investigate the "structures" that CIA psychics claimed to see decades ago? We dig into the official story and the high-strangeness reality.

Table of Contents

The 53-Year Pause: Why Did We Really Stop?

The Geopolitical Panic: It's Not About Science

Cislunar Space: The New Battlefield Above Earth

The Trillion-Dollar Fuel: Helium-3

Lunar Industrialization Has Already Begun

High Strangeness: What Is Hiding on the Far Side?

Why the Far Side Produces So Many Anomalies

Remote Viewing the Dark Side: The CIA's Secret

Why Ingo Swann’s Account Still Haunts the Program

Why Artemis II Doesn’t Need to Land

What Then? The Race for the Unknown

FAQ: Artemis II & The Far Side

It is one of the most frustrating quotes in space history. When asked why we hadn't returned to the lunar surface, NASA astronaut Don Pettit famously said: "I'd go to the moon in a nanosecond. The problem is that we don't have the technology to do that anymore. We used to, but we destroyed that technology and it's a painful process to build it back again."

For 53 years, that excuse held. But now, the technology has miraculously returned. Artemis II is on the pad. The destination isn't just a flag-planting photo op; it is a trajectory that takes humans around the Far Side of the Moon. Why now? Did we find the blueprints in a drawer? Or did we realize that if we don't get back there now, someone else is going to claim whatever is waiting in the dark?

The 53-Year Pause: Why Did We Really Stop?

The official narrative is simple: The Apollo program was too expensive, the Cold War ended, and the Space Shuttle was cooler. We "lost the technology" in the sense that the factories, supply chains, and blueprints for the Saturn V were decommissioned.

But that explanation feels thin. We went from the Wright Brothers to the Moon in 66 years. Then, we spent the next 53 years floating in Low Earth Orbit circles. In any other industry, technology accelerates. In space travel, it apparently regressed. The sudden urgency of Artemis II suggests that the "pause" wasn't just about budget—it was about lack of motivation. Now, the motivation is back, and it's wearing a red flag.

The Geopolitical Panic: It's Not About Science

Let's be clear: Artemis II is a military-strategic mission disguised as a science trip.

China is winning the 21st-century Space Race. Their Chang'e missions have not only landed on the Far Side (something the US has never done), but they have returned samples containing water-bearing minerals and strange "glass" globules. China plans a permanent lunar base by 2030. Control of "Cislunar Space" (the area between Earth and the Moon) creates the ultimate high ground for military satellites. If China controls the Moon, they control the orbital economy. NASA isn't going back for rocks; they are going back to plant a "No Trespassing" sign.

Cislunar Space: The New Battlefield Above Earth

What most people don’t realize is that the Moon isn’t the prize—the space around it is.

Military planners increasingly refer to the region between Earth and the Moon as cislunar space. Control this zone, and you control communications, early-warning systems, GPS reliability, and orbital logistics. Satellites positioned near lunar Lagrange points can monitor Earth continuously, without atmospheric interference.

The Far Side of the Moon offers something even more valuable: permanent radio silence. No Earth-based transmissions reach it directly. That makes it ideal for deep-space listening arrays… or activities that don’t want oversight.

In this context, Artemis II isn’t late—it’s dangerously behind schedule.

The Trillion-Dollar Fuel: Helium-3

There is also the economic angle. The Far Side of the Moon is constantly bombarded by solar wind, which deposits Helium-3 into the soil. This rare isotope is the holy grail of nuclear fusion—a clean, limitless fuel source worth roughly $3 billion per ton.

The Far Side is estimated to have vast reserves of it. A single shuttle load could power the United States for a year. Whoever mines the Far Side first becomes the Saudi Arabia of the 22nd century. This turns the Artemis mission into the start of the greatest gold rush in human history.

Lunar Industrialization Has Already Begun

The idea of mining the Moon used to sound like science fiction. It no longer does.

China has openly stated its intent to establish automated mining infrastructure on the lunar surface. NASA and private contractors quietly publish studies on robotic excavation, 3D-printed lunar habitats, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).

Once heavy machinery reaches the Moon, the rules change. Permanent presence becomes inevitable. Territorial disputes follow. Treaties written for a different era begin to collapse.

The Outer Space Treaty forbids national ownership—but it says very little about corporate extraction, autonomous systems, or “safety zones.” The Moon is becoming the Wild West of international law.

High Strangeness: What Is Hiding on the Far Side?

But at What Then Studio, we look at the margins. Why the Far Side specifically? It is the only place in the universe that never faces Earth. It is radio-silent, shielded from our broadcasts. It is the perfect place to hide.

UFO lore has long claimed the Far Side is occupied. From the "Tower" anomalies seen in Orbiter photos to the recent "Mystery Hut" spotted by the Chinese rover (which they claimed was a rock, though the images were curiously low-res), the Far Side is a magnet for high strangeness. Are we going back to inspect something?

Why the Far Side Produces So Many Anomalies

The Far Side of the Moon behaves differently—not just politically, but physically.

For decades, astronomers have noted unexplained transient lunar phenomena (TLPs): flashes, glowing regions, and color changes that appear briefly, then vanish. Some occur near known impact sites. Others do not.

Radio astronomers are especially interested in the Far Side because it is the quietest place near Earth. No human-made radio noise. No atmospheric distortion. Which raises an uncomfortable possibility: if we can hear deeper into space from the Far Side… so can anything else.

A listening post placed there would not just observe the universe—it would observe us, uninterrupted.

Remote Viewing the Dark Side: The CIA's Secret

The strangest story of the Far Side doesn't come from a telescope, but from a psychic. In 1975, the CIA and SRI (Stanford Research Institute) hired the legendary remote viewer Ingo Swann for a top-secret project.

In his book Penetration, Swann claims he was given coordinates on the Moon's Far Side. When he "projected" his consciousness there, he didn't see rocks. He described massive towers, machinery, and naked humanoids mining the surface. Swann famously claimed that while he was viewing them, they saw him and he was ordered to terminate the session immediately.

For decades, this was dismissed as fantasy. But as China finds "glass" soil and discusses mining operations, Swann's visions of industrial activity on the Far Side feel uncomfortably prophetic. Is Artemis II the beginning of the disclosure that we are not the only ones mining the moon?

Why Ingo Swann’s Account Still Haunts the Program

Ingo Swann’s Far Side claims are easy to dismiss—until you notice how carefully they’ve been ignored.

Project Stargate was not fringe. It was funded for over 20 years. While many remote viewing experiments failed, others produced results troubling enough to keep the program alive through multiple administrations.

Swann’s account stands out because it involved a location no human had ever directly observed. His descriptions of structures, machinery, and activity predated modern high-resolution lunar imaging.

No agency has ever publicly addressed his Far Side session in detail. They didn’t confirm it. They didn’t debunk it. They simply went quiet.

Silence, in intelligence work, is rarely accidental.

Why Artemis II Doesn’t Need to Land

Critics often point out that Artemis II doesn’t include a lunar landing. That may be the point.

A Far Side flyby allows for reconnaissance without commitment. Sensor sweeps. Signal mapping. Visual confirmation. It’s a way to look before acting.

If something unexpected is detected—anomalous heat signatures, artificial geometry, or unexplained emissions—it doesn’t become a headline. It becomes a classified briefing.

Landing is a declaration. Observation is deniable.

The Moon has waited quietly for fifty years. Now, suddenly, everyone wants back. When that happens in geopolitics, it’s rarely about curiosity. It’s about urgency. And urgency usually means someone believes time is running out.

What Then? The Race for the Unknown

At What Then Studio, we see Artemis II as the breaking of a 50-year seal. We "lost the technology" because it was convenient to stay away. Now, fear or greed has overridden that caution.

Whether we are racing to beat China to the Helium-3, or racing to secure artifacts that have been waiting in the dark for millennia, one thing is certain: The Moon is no longer a graveyard of Apollo history. It is an active construction site. And when the Artemis astronauts swing around the dark side in 2026, we have to wonder: Will they be alone?

FAQ: Artemis II & The Far Side

Q: Will Artemis II land on the Moon?

A: No. Artemis II is a crewed flyby mission. It will orbit the moon and venture thousands of miles beyond the Far Side, but it will not touch down. That is reserved for Artemis III.

Q: Why is Helium-3 so valuable?

A: Helium-3 is a rare isotope that can fuel nuclear fusion reactions without producing radioactive waste. It is abundant on the Moon's Far Side but extremely rare on Earth.

Q: Did Ingo Swann really work for the CIA?

A: Yes. Ingo Swann was a key participant in the CIA-funded "Project Stargate" at Stanford Research Institute, which investigated the potential of remote viewing for intelligence gathering.