A former NASA intern, Thad Roberts, was caught after stealing moon rocks valued at $21,000,000. He later confessed that he and his accomplice used them for intimate purposes.
When considering a romantic setting, a pile of rocks might not be the first choice for most. However, for Roberts, the idea was uniquely enticing.
It’s important to note these weren’t just any rocks, but moon samples collected by NASA missions in 1969 and the early 1970s, stored at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. These samples were meticulously gathered by Apollo astronauts.
Roberts, along with fellow interns Tiffany Fowler and Shae Saur, executed their plan in 2002, stealing a safe that housed these priceless lunar samples.
Roberts began his internship at NASA, and together with Fowler and Saur, used their IDs to access the Johnson Space Center after hours, taking the entire safe containing moon rocks worth up to $21 million.
Though the trio intended to sell the rocks, Roberts had another plan. In a 2011 CBS News interview, Roberts described how he and Fowler had intimate relations on the moon rocks in a hotel room.
“I take some of the moon rocks and I put them underneath the blanket on the bed… I never said anything but I’m sure she could feel it,” he noted. “It was more about the symbol of what we were doing, basically having sex on the moon.”
Following the incident, the FBI released a statement: “The young thieves did more than just try to sell off a collection of lunar samples… In the process, they also contaminated them, making them virtually useless to the scientific community.
“They also destroyed three decades worth of handwritten research notes by a NASA scientist that had been locked in the safe.”
Once Roberts and Fowler had their moment on the rocks, they moved forward with their plan to sell them.
With an associate’s help, they had set up a website to facilitate the sale. However, the FBI was already closing in.
The agency had an undercover collector email the trio, expressing interest in purchasing the rocks, and suggested contacting ‘their brother and sister-in-law in Pennsylvania to set up a meeting’.
Unbeknownst to the thieves, these supposed family members were undercover FBI agents.
The interns were eventually arrested, and the moon rocks were retrieved from their hotel room. Roberts, Fowler, and Saur were charged with conspiracy to commit theft and interstate transportation of stolen property.
Roberts was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the heist, while Fowler and Saur received 180 days of house arrest and 150 hours of community service.