The writer
By no stretch of the imagination could the Artemis II lunar mission be said to have had an April Fool connection, but somehow someone decided to make Ghanaians wonder, after the NASA spacecraft took off on April 1.
Mission specialist, Christina Hammock Koch, the only woman among the crew – and the one with a known connection to Ghana, was featured online displaying the Ghana flag, supposedly aboard Artemis II. If only it were true!
Unfortunately, it has turned out to be a reminder of the 2024 Fetu Festival hoax in Cape Coast, when a doctored voice-over, seemingly Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired, put impertinent words in the mouth of a seven-year-old culture whizz kid. It alleged that the little boy had given an assignment to Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II!
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Artemis II mission, with a crew of four astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on April 1, 2026, and returned on April 10.
It seems that no sooner had the unprecedented mission to circle the moon taken off, than convincing but deceptive viral videos portraying Ms. Koch, a University of Ghana alumna, displaying the Ghana flag, started appearing online. Naturally, this generated a massive feel-good atmosphere and pride in the country.
One example of the fake news stated:
“As of April 2026, NASA astronaut Christina Koch celebrated her ties to Ghana by displaying the Ghanaian flag inside the Artemis II spacecraft during her mission, which included a lunar flyby. Koch, a former University of Ghana exchange student, is the first woman to travel beyond low Earth orbit, making this a significant moment for the country.”
Who could blame Ghanaians for their glee? But was it done by an irresponsible person, as an extended April Fool prank, inspired by AI?
On my part, checking her date of birth, January 29, 1979, and finding that it fell on a Monday, I was prompted to venture to give her in absentia a traditional Ghanaian day-name, Ajoa or Adwoa , which perhaps she already became familiar with during her time at Legon, in the 1999 – 2000 academic year, including learning basic Twi language.
I hasten to confess that I’m not a fan of space exploration, despite all the scientific benefits it’s said to generate, I’m no astrophile. I never understood the enthusiasm of space devotees, perhaps because I’m ‘old school’. Besides, I belong to the ‘let well alone’ category. Or, simply, put it down to my fear of that unknown.
Nevertheless, the story that she had honoured the Ghana flag so spectacularly in the 2026 ultimate space venture, gave it a different dimension. And apparently, even the Presidency was convinced!
I was drafting an article, with proposals as to how Ghana should show appreciation to her, when it was reported that President John Mahama was planning to honour my fellow Monday-born for her singular demonstration of affection for Ghana. Extremely appropriate, I thought.
Indeed, in my draft, before the President’s intention had been published, among other ideas, I suggested that she be made an honorary citizen of Ghana.
Then came the bombshell rebuttal: there was no truth in the claim that a Ghana flag had been on the Artemis II mission!
An information verification endeavour, DUBAWA, explains emphatically:
“Claim: A viral photo on social media shows NASA astronaut Christina Koch taking Ghana’s flag to the moon on the Artemis II mission.
“Verdict: False! The viral photo of Ghana’s flag in space, circulating in connection with the Artemis II mission, was taken in December 2019, when astronaut Christina Koch was aboard the International Space Station, more than six years before the 2026 lunar mission.”
(DUBAWA – a Hausa word meaning ‘to verify’ – “is a West African independent verification and fact-checking project initiated … to help amplify the culture of truth in public discourse, public policy, and journalistic practice.”)
“Based on DUBAWA’s investigation, the claim that NASA astronaut Christina Koch took Ghana’s flag to the Moon on the Artemis II mission is false.”
Other sources, too, corroborated the Dubawa emphatic denial.
Thus, evidently, it was fakery, apparently someone pranking the whole nation, and the world!
So again, questions which now arise include:
Were the videos said to show Ms Koch displaying the Ghana flag aboard Artemis II posted innocently by an over enthusiastic astrophile, or an April Fool prank; or just AI inspired mischief?
Critically, what was the motive?
Well, so far, the answers seem to be blowing in the lunar wind!
Meanwhile, the recent focus on the Ghana flag reawakened for me a concern that sprang to mind as I watched the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on TV on February 27: are there no rules regarding the design of the Ghana flag?
Furthermore, can anybody just produce our famous red, gold, green with the assertive black star in the middle, with little or no regard to the colours and design specified by Ghana flag designer Theodosia Okoh?
The questions were prompted by the appearance of the flags decorating the Parliamentary chamber. Instead of the compelling, conspicuous black and proud black star, the flags had a tiny black star, almost invisible; and also, most of them had been displayed hiding the star. (I confirmed this again, by checking online SONA photos, at the time of writing this article.)
Yet the black star in the flag is not there by accident! Clearly, inspired, awesome artist Mrs. Okoh didn’t throw in a black star as an afterthought, or because it would look good, or it would present a nice contrast.
As a reference source explains:
“The black star in the centre of the Ghanaian flag symbolizes African freedom, emancipation and unity against colonialism. Often referred to as the ‘lodestar of African freedom’, it represents Ghana’s role in the liberation of the continent and its pride in black heritage ….”
So, obviously the black star in our national flag has a significant role, and should not be reduced to a mini decoration.
Every image of a standard, official flag shows the prominence of the star, so how come in Parliament House of all places, for such an important occasion flags in the chamber appeared sub-standard?
Was the State Protocol Department involved, or responsible for that troubling flag display in the chamber?
An earlier flag issue I raised some eight years ago in an article related to the colour of the middle band of the Ghana flag.
Official sources describe the national flag thus: “Red, gold and green horizontal stripes with a five-pointed black star in the centre of the gold stripe. The colour red represents the blood of those who died in the country’s struggle for independence: gold stands for the mineral wealth (emphasis added), while green symbolizes the rich forest.”
The question I posed in that article was:
“Why has the middle colour in our national flag, which was deliberately chosen by the flag designer, Mrs. Theodosia Okoh, as a GOLD colour, to represent the gold in our country, in recent times has been changed to a sickly, uninspiring lemony yellow hue?” (‘Thoughts of a Native Daughter’, column, the Mirror weekly, October 5, 2018.)
Also, are there no regulations regarding the production of the national flag, including design specifications, as well as who qualifies to produce and market it?
Anyway, still on the ‘Ghana flag in space puzzle’, I’m wondering whether it was done purely out of innocent over enthusiasm or an AI promoted deception.
As stated, I find in it echoes of the 2024 Fetu Afahye fake voice-over that had the little stilt walker nicknamed ‘Chief Justice’, cheekily asking the Asantehene to hold his masquerade flag for him while he went to the bathroom! A total fabrication!
Who knows what next? Thus, I think the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service needs to look into these AI inspired incidents, whether misinformation or disinformation.
However, to my mind, even if the Artemis II mission Ghana flag hoisting is untrue, it has highlighted what Astronaut Koch did for the image of Ghana in 2019, which apparently didn’t get much news coverage in Ghana then.
But undeniably, as a show of love for Ghana by a foreigner it is unprecedented and deserves to be acknowledged.
Therefore, this should be a Sankofa (‘never too late to mend’) moment, and Ghana can still take the opportunity to show appreciation to Christina Ajoa Koch for her definitive demonstration of affection and esteem, long after her year in Ghana.
By Ajoa Yeboah-Afari