When you’re in space looking at the earth and moon, you only see “dark space” since, there is nothing there. Are we simply looking at the space between objects and getting the wrong inference?
The space between earth and moon doesn't distort their images or obscure them. Dark matter is detected by the fact that it distorts objects or bends the light from them in some way.
“Are we simply looking at the space between objects and getting the wrong inference?”
Well, it’s space that is bending light, indicating gravity, so I would say, “no.” There is certainly SOMETHING there.