Moonrock thief is a thing now and this term is used to describe a person that has stolen precious artifacts from NASA that are known to be priceless as the last mission to the moon happened decades ago.
Thad Roberts is the famous moon rock thief notoriously known to the public, and his story includes his dream of coming to space but never actually achieving it.
Thad Roberts, the Moon Rock Thief
Thad Roberts is a promising young man back in 2002 before he went to jail for a crime of passion and love. Specifically, he committed an offense out of love and desire to become an astronaut, reports CBS News.
In 2001, Roberts was accepted as an intern in NASA's Co-op program during his junior year at the University of Utah. The junior student is a remarkable and theoretical physicist who had his whole life ahead of him.
However, his obsession with becoming an astronaut took over him and his participation in the program in NASA led to his downfall. Roberts hatched a plan involving a vault filled with Moon rocks. Roberts had an accomplice, a fellow intern in NASA named Tiffany Fowler, who helped him break into the quarters of Everett Gibson, a NASA scientist.
Read Also: NASA Is Collaborating With National Geographic To Document The Artemis Mission
Yes, Stealing NASA Artifacts is a Crime
The now TEDxBoulder speaker initially stole 101 grams of space rocks, including samples from all the Apollo missions, as well as a Martian meteorite, among other artifacts. Roberts and Fowler planned to sell the rocks for money and they even came in contact with a Belgian mineral collector named Axel Emmerman.
However, it was a trap for both Roberts and Fowler, especially as Emmerman contacted the FBI beforehand.
On July 20, 2002, Roberts and Fowler faced the feds instead of Emmerman, leading to their arrest.
Roberts said that this crime is because of his deep love and interest in becoming an astronaut and being able to go to the lunar surface, which he never attained.
NASA's Focus on the Moon: Artemis
NASA is known to focus itself on going back to the moon, but this time, the goals is for a woman to step foot in the natural satellite known to man. The Artemis Moon Mission is an upcoming event where NASA will pool up its resources to make sure that humans can return to the moon and bring the first woman to its surface.
Previous missions from 1969 to 1972 only involved men.
NASA is already looking into the designs of a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), a device that would bring astronauts to different parts of the moon with ease and assistance.
The Artemis and Apollo are two massive names in the space industry, primarily as NASA focused its efforts and resources there. Thad Roberts' story maybe a sob one, especially as it ended up into something that turned his dream into a different experience.
However, it may be bittersweet for the thief as he got a chance to have a first-hand experience of touching a piece of his aspirations.
Related Article: NASA Looks to Spend $93 BILLION on the Artemis Mission Through 2025
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Written by Isaiah Richard
