In a remarkable heist that captivated the public, former NASA intern Thad Roberts stole 17 pounds of moon rocks and a meteorite, valued at approximately $21 million, from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The audacious plan unfolded over two decades ago, culminating in a series of events that would lead to arrest and conviction.
Roberts, then just 24 years old, was a triple major in physics, geology, and geophysics at the University of Utah. Facing financial difficulties while supporting a family, he devised a scheme to sell the priceless lunar samples. With the assistance of friend Gordon McWhorter, he identified a potential buyer in Belgium willing to pay between $1,000 and $5,000 per gram. However, the buyer’s suspicions soon led to an alert being sent to the FBI.
During this time, Roberts met fellow intern Tiffany Fowler, who was engaged in stem cell research. Their relationship quickly progressed, and after just three weeks of dating, Fowler agreed to assist Roberts in his illicit venture. Together with another intern, Shae Saur, the trio used their NASA credentials to gain access to the Johnson Space Center and successfully extracted the locked safe containing the moon rocks.
Once back at their hotel, the three interns used a power saw to open the safe. On July 20, 2002, which marked the 33rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Roberts and Fowler prepared to meet family members of the suspected buyer in Orlando. In a bizarre twist, Roberts placed the moon rocks beneath the bed covers, claiming later that it symbolized their act of “having sex on the moon.”
“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,” Roberts remarked in a 2012 interview with CBS News. “It was more about the symbol of what we were doing, basically having sex on the moon.”
The couple’s plans unraveled when they arrived at their meeting location, where they were confronted by undercover FBI agents. The moon rocks were recovered from their hotel room, although the FBI reported that they had become “virtually useless to the scientific community.” The heist also resulted in the destruction of over three decades of handwritten research notes by a NASA scientist.
Following his arrest, Roberts confessed to additional thefts, including dinosaur bones and fossils from the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. When questioned about his motives, he explained, “We weren’t going to take this money… to go buy a yacht or lots of cars… We were gonna live just the small kind of lifestyle we were, but fund science that might change the world.”
Roberts, Fowler, and Saur ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and interstate transportation of stolen property. In a federal court, Roberts was sentenced to eight years in prison, serving six, while Fowler and Saur received 180 days of house arrest and 150 hours of community service. McWhorter, who faced trial, was sentenced to six years behind bars. Following their arrests, Roberts and Fowler never reunited.
The audacity of the moon rock heist remains a cautionary tale within the scientific community, highlighting the need for stringent security measures to protect invaluable artifacts from space exploration.