NASA Intern’s $21M Moon Rock Heist Ends in Arrest

In a remarkable story of ambition and folly, former NASA intern Thad Roberts orchestrated the theft of 17 pounds of moon rocks and a meteorite valued at approximately $21 million. This audacious plan took place more than two decades ago at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Roberts, then only 24 years old and facing financial struggles while supporting his wife, believed he had devised a foolproof scheme.

Roberts, a triple major in physics, geology, and geophysics at the University of Utah, initially sought to sell the stolen lunar samples online. He enlisted the help of a friend, Gordon McWhorter, to connect with a potential buyer in Belgium, who expressed willingness to pay between $1,000 and $5,000 per gram. When the buyer grew suspicious and contacted the FBI, agents instructed him to continue negotiations.

During this time, Roberts met fellow NASA intern Tiffany Fowler, who was involved in stem cell research. Their relationship quickly developed into a romantic partnership. After just three weeks of dating, Fowler agreed to assist Roberts in executing his plan. They brought another intern, Shae Saur, into the scheme. On the night of the theft, the trio used their NASA identification to access the Johnson Space Center, where they succeeded in stealing the entire safe containing the lunar samples.

Once back at their hotel, Roberts and his accomplices used a power saw to open the safe. On July 20, 2002, coinciding with the 33rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the group drove to Orlando to meet family members of the Belgian buyer. In a bizarre twist, Roberts placed moon rocks under the bed covers, claiming this act symbolized 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 later stated in an interview with CBS News. He elaborated that the act was meant to represent a unique expression rather than merely a physical act.

The rendezvous did not go as planned. Instead of a buyer, the trio encountered undercover FBI agents. The authorities recovered the moon rocks from their hotel room, although they later reported that the items were now “virtually useless to the scientific community.” Additionally, the heist resulted in the destruction of over three decades of handwritten research notes belonging to a NASA scientist.

Roberts later admitted to having also stolen dinosaur bones and fossils from the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. When questioned about his motivations, he claimed he did not view his actions as theft, stating, “We weren’t going to take this money we were getting from it to go buy a yacht or lots of cars or a big house. We were gonna live just the small kind of lifestyle we were, but fund science that might change the world.”

Ultimately, Roberts, Fowler, and Saur all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and interstate transportation of stolen property. Roberts received a sentence of eight years in federal prison, serving only six. Fowler and Saur were sentenced to 180 days of house arrest and 150 hours of community service. McWhorter, who was convicted at trial, received a six-year prison term.

Following their convictions, Roberts and Fowler never reunited, marking the end of their short-lived partnership both in crime and romance. This incident remains a cautionary tale regarding ambition, the allure of quick wealth, and the consequences of crossing moral and legal boundaries.