Moon Landing Denier Gets Job at NASA, Immediately Denies That He Works There

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston has found itself in an unusual personnel situation after newly hired systems analyst Derek Hoax, a vocal moon landing denier, began his first week by denying that he works at NASA, insisting that the building is a soundstage and his colleagues are crisis actors. 'This isn't NASA,' Hoax told reporters from his desk on the third floor of Building 30, surrounded by mission control memorabilia and a wall-mounted photograph of the Apollo 11 crew. 'This is a set. A very convincing set, I'll give them that. The attention to detail is remarkable. But I've done my research.' Hoax was hired through a standard civil service process after scoring highly on the technical assessment for a data systems position. His social media history, which includes a 400-episode podcast called 'The Moon Is A Lie,' was not reviewed during the hiring process. 'We evaluate candidates on their qualifications,' said HR Director Patricia Orbit. 'His technical skills are excellent. His belief that the organization he works for is an elaborate fiction is, admittedly, something the interview rubric doesn't cover.' Hoax's first week has been marked by a series of incidents. On Monday, he questioned why the hallways were 'suspiciously well-lit, like a Hollywood set.' On Tuesday, he asked a colleague in the astronaut corps whether she had 'signed an NDA or just a regular acting contract.' On Wednesday, he submitted a facilities request for 'better greenscreen quality in the break room windows,' noting that 'the sky looks fake.' Despite his skepticism about the organization's existence, Hoax has been completing his assigned work on time and to specification. 'His code is clean, his documentation is thorough, and his systems analysis is first-rate,' said his supervisor, Mission Systems Lead Alan Telemetry. 'He just doesn't believe any of it is real. He thinks he's maintaining the database for a movie studio. The deliverables are identical either way, so I'm choosing not to engage.' Hoax has requested a tour of the lunar sample vault 'to see how far the production design goes.' The request is under review.