In the summer of 2002, NASA was the unlikely scene of an audacious heist that sounds more like a Hollywood plot than reality.
Thad Roberts, a 25-year-old intern, and two accomplices managed to steal 17 pounds of lunar rocks, valued at an estimated $21 million, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. His motivation?
To fulfill a bizarre promise to his girlfriend — having sex on the Moon, or at least, as close as humanly possible.
A Dream Turned Astray
Thad Roberts was no ordinary intern. With aspirations of becoming the first man on Mars, he was seen as a bright and ambitious young scientist.
But it was his romantic gesture, rather than his scientific prowess, that would forever define him. He promised his girlfriend, Tiffany Fowler, “the Moon.”
Unlike other lovers who offer poetic words or symbolic gestures, Roberts meant it literally.
During his time at NASA, Roberts noticed the Moon rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts were stored with surprisingly lax security. These samples, some of the rarest and most scientifically significant materials on Earth, represented decades of research and exploration.
Yet, they were locked in a safe with a tag suggesting the combination might be written on it. For Roberts, this was an opportunity too tempting to ignore.
The Heist of a Lifetime
On July 13, 2002, Roberts, Fowler, and their fellow intern Shae Saur put their plan into action.
Using their NASA IDs, they entered the restricted area after hours and reached the safe. To their dismay, the tag didn’t contain the combination but a cryptic hint.
Faced with a choice to abandon their plan or improvise, the trio opted for the latter. They carried the entire safe out of the building, loaded it into their car, and drove to a motel.
Once there, they used a power saw to cut open the safe.
Among its contents were the Moon rocks, meticulously collected during the Apollo missions, and three decades’ worth of handwritten research notes.
Roberts and Fowler, in a symbolic culmination of their heist, scattered the rocks across a bed and fulfilled their peculiar romantic ambition.
Selling the Moon
But Roberts wasn’t just interested in romance; he saw financial potential in the lunar loot.
Using the alias “Orb Robinson,” he contacted a Belgian mineralogist who had previously expressed interest in buying Moon rocks. The price?
Up to $5,000 per gram.
Roberts arranged a meeting with the mineralogist’s American relatives at an Italian restaurant in Orlando, Florida, on July 20, 2002 — the 33rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
What Roberts didn’t know was that the mineralogist had alerted the FBI.
In a carefully orchestrated sting operation, Roberts and his accomplices were arrested, and the Moon rocks were recovered from their nearby hotel room.
The Fallout
The consequences of the theft were staggering. By removing the rocks from their sterile environment, Roberts and his team had contaminated them, rendering them useless for scientific research.
Additionally, the destruction of the handwritten notes represented an irreplaceable loss to the scientific community.
Roberts pleaded guilty and was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison. His co-conspirators received lighter sentences.
This wasn’t Roberts’ first brush with the law; he was also implicated in the theft of dinosaur bones from a Utah museum.
Redemption Behind Bars
Prison could have been the end of Roberts’ story, but he used his time to redefine himself.
While serving his sentence, he earned degrees in physics, anthropology, and philosophy. He also developed a theory called Quantum Space Theory (QST), which he believes bridges the gap between Einstein’s general relativity and quantum mechanics.
His 700-page thesis has garnered attention from physicists and enthusiasts alike, although it remains in its early stages of development.
Now 44, Roberts has shifted his focus to the mysteries of the universe.
In interviews, he has expressed regret for his actions, urging others not to repeat his mistakes.
“The awe of the Moon rocks belongs to all of us,” he said. “There are better ways to come face-to-face with our magnificent insignificance.”
