In 2002, a shocking crime rocked NASA’s Johnson Space Center when 24-year-old intern Thad Roberts orchestrated the theft of 17 pounds of moon rocks valued at $21 million. The audacious heist—later dubbed the “Sex on the Moon” incident—combined elements of romance, betrayal, and financial greed, leaving a permanent mark on space exploration history.
Roberts, a gifted University of Utah graduate with triple degrees in physics, geology, and geophysics, had landed a prestigious internship at NASA. There, he met 22-year-old stem cell researcher Tiffany Fowler, and their whirlwind romance escalated quickly. Within weeks of dating, Roberts confided in Fowler about his bold plan to steal lunar samples, framing it as a grand romantic gesture.
To execute the scheme, Roberts enlisted another intern, Shae Saur. On a July night, the trio arrived at NASA’s Building 31, where priceless lunar samples from every Apollo mission were secured inside a 600-pound safe. Roberts and Fowler, wearing Neoprene bodysuits and carrying forged NASA badges, entered the facility while Saur monitored tampered security cameras. They broke into the airless storage room, removed the safe, and later cracked it open with a power saw.
In a bizarre twist, Roberts placed some of the moon rocks under his bed covers, claiming it was a symbolic gesture to “have sex on the moon.” He later told CBS News in 2012, “I did it for love… to create a symbol that no one else had ever done before.”
However, the FBI revealed another motive—profit. Roberts had been in contact with a Belgian buyer offering $1,000 to $5,000 per gram for the rocks. When the buyer grew suspicious, they contacted authorities, triggering an undercover sting operation that led to the arrests.
Roberts pleaded guilty to theft of government property and was sentenced to eight years in prison, also admitting to stealing dinosaur fossils from the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. He served just over six years, being released in 2008. Fowler and Saur received lighter sentences, including house arrest, community service, and restitution payments. Another accomplice, McWhorter, was sentenced to six years in prison.
The crime, which inspired Ben Mezrich’s 2011 book Sex on the Moon, remains one of the most daring and unusual heists in NASA’s history—a blend of science, scandal, and the lengths one man claimed he would go for love.