A shocking case of theft at NASA's Johnson Space Center involves stolen Apollo mission moon rocks and an unconventional romantic gesture.
According to Daily Mail, NASA intern Thad Roberts orchestrated the theft of 17 pounds of moon rocks worth up to $21 million in 2002, using them for an intimate encounter with his girlfriend before attempting to sell them online.
The 25-year-old intern enlisted the help of his girlfriend, Tiffany Fowler, and another intern named Shae Saur to break into the space center after hours. The group used their NASA identification cards to gain unauthorized access to the facility, where they managed to remove a 600-pound safe containing lunar samples from every Apollo mission.
After stealing the moon rocks, Roberts and Fowler scattered them across a bed for an intimate encounter. The couple then attempted to profit from their theft by listing the stolen samples for sale on the Mineralogy Club of Antwerp's website in Belgium, pricing them between $2,000 and $8,000 per gram.
A Belgian rock collector who spotted the online listing contacted the FBI, leading to an elaborate sting operation. The collector, working with federal agents, arranged a meeting with the thieves at an Italian restaurant in Orlando, Florida.
During the meeting on July 20, 2002, Roberts expressed suspicion about potential surveillance but proceeded with the transaction anyway. FBI agent Lynn Billings, who was wearing a wire, recorded the entire encounter.
The arrests took place in a hotel room where the stolen moon rocks were being kept. The timing proved particularly ironic, as it coincided with the 33rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
During the investigation, Roberts was recorded expressing his excitement about the potential sale. The audio captured him and his accomplices in high spirits, with one of them even leaving an unusually large tip for a waitress.
FBI agent Billings shared Roberts' recorded statement from the operation: "I think they're trying to trick me. You know, just catch me."
The theft resulted in significant scientific losses. The stolen moon rocks were rendered scientifically worthless due to contamination during the incident. Additionally, three decades of handwritten research notes by a NASA scientist were destroyed in the process.
Roberts received the harshest sentence among the conspirators, serving more than eight years in prison for his leading role in the heist and for a separate theft of dinosaur fossils from a Utah museum. His accomplices received lighter sentences, with Fowler and Saur getting 180 days of house arrest and 150 hours of community service.
After his release in 2008, Roberts pursued a career in theoretical physics and philosophy. He later reflected on his actions in a 2011 interview:
I, like many others, am filled with awe when I reflect upon how those rocks demonstrate humanity's limitless potential. But that awe does not live within those rocks. It belongs to all of us. From experience I can say that there are more appropriate, and more productive, ways to come face-to-face with our magnificent insignificance than stealing a piece of the moon.
The 2002 moon rock theft at NASA's Johnson Space Center stands as one of the most unusual cases in the agency's history. Thad Roberts, along with fellow interns Tiffany Fowler and Shae Saur, orchestrated the theft of precious lunar samples worth $21 million. The case gained notoriety not only for the value of the stolen items but for Roberts' romantic use of the moon rocks before attempting to sell them online. The incident resulted in the permanent loss of valuable scientific materials and research, leading to Roberts serving an eight-year prison sentence while his accomplices received lighter punishments.
