In 2002, Thad Roberts and three accomplices arranged a heist to steal moon rocks from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The stolen lunar material had been collected during every Apollo mission from 1969 to 1972, and was considered a national treasure until it fell into the hands of these four conspirators.
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Sources for this episode:
Carreau, Mark, and Roma Khanna. “Moon-Rock Heist Ended Dream to Be Astronaut.” Chron, 24 July 2002, https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Moon-rock-heist-ended-dream-to-be-astronaut-2098050.php.
“CollectSPACE - News - ‘NASA JSC Co-Op: Thad Roberts.’” CollectSPACE | Space History | Space Memorabilia | Space Artifacts | Space Collectibles, https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-072202b.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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“Four Students Arrested in NASA Moon Rock and Mars Meteorite Heist | CollectSPACE.” CollectSPACE.Com, https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-072202a.html#:~:text=While%20the%20moon%20rocks%20may,27. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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“Johnson Space Center - NASA.” NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
La Corte, Rachel. “Four Charges in Plot to Sell Moon Rocks.” The Bryan Times, 23 June 2002, https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5sJAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA13&dq=thad+roberts&article_id=5432,3031834&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjX_OCl-5-QAxX_5ckDHXYLAUAQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=thad%20roberts&f=false.
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“Utah Man Sentenced in Moon Rocks Case | KSL.Com.” Utah Breaking News, Top Stories & Sports | World, US, Local, ksl.com, 27 Aug. 2003, https://www.ksl.com/article/89261/utah-man-sentenced-in-moon-rocks-case.
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2379086/ Season 3 Episode 5: Houston We Have a Marital Problem
Wolchover, Natalie. “6 Questions with the Man Who Had Sex on the Moon.” NBC News, NBC News, 25 July 2011, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna43885432.
Wood, Benjamin. “Story of Utah Moon Rock Thief Now a Book, May Become a Movie – Deseret News.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 22 July 2011, https://www.deseret.com/2011/7/22/20385817/story-of-utah-moon-rock-thief-now-a-book-may-become-a-movie/.
