Thad Roberts: The Man Who Stole the Moon Rocks
Back in 1998, a young NASA intern named Thad Roberts had a bold and audacious plan – to steal priceless moon rocks and a meteorite from Houston’s Johnson Space Center. These samples, collected from every Apollo mission, were securely locked in a 600-pound safe and valued at a staggering $21 million.
At just 24 years old, Roberts was a triple major in physics, geology, and geophysics at the University of Utah. He was financially struggling and saw this heist as a way to solve his problems. With the help of his friend Gordon McWhorter, Roberts found a potential buyer online who was willing to pay top dollar for the stolen lunar samples.
However, the buyer grew suspicious and alerted the FBI, who began investigating the situation. Around the same time, Roberts met Tiffany Fowler, a fellow NASA intern conducting stem cell research. Their friendship quickly turned romantic, and Fowler agreed to help Roberts with his daring plan.
Together with another NASA intern, Shae Saur, the trio used their NASA IDs to sneak into the Johnson Space Center and make off with the entire safe containing the moon rocks. Back at their hotel, they used a power saw to crack open the safe and retrieve the valuable samples.
On the 33rd anniversary of the first moon landing, Roberts and Fowler traveled to Orlando to meet with the supposed buyers. In a bizarre twist, Roberts placed moon rocks beneath the bed covers, claiming they had “sex on the moon” as a symbolic gesture.
When they met with the buyers, they were instead met by undercover FBI agents who recovered the stolen moon rocks from their hotel room. The heist had destroyed three decades of handwritten research notes by a NASA scientist, rendering the samples virtually useless to the scientific community.
Roberts later admitted to also stealing dinosaur bones and fossils from a museum in Salt Lake City. He claimed that his intention was not to steal for personal gain but to fund scientific research that could change the world.
In the end, Roberts, Fowler, Saur, and McWhorter were all convicted of conspiracy to commit theft and interstate transportation of stolen property. Roberts was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, serving six, while Fowler and Saur received house arrest and community service. McWhorter was given six years in prison.
The moon rocks may have been recovered, but the repercussions of this daring heist continue to echo through history. Thad Roberts, the man who stole the moon rocks, will forever be remembered for his audacious attempt to take a piece of the moon for himself.
