E50: Thad Roberts

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.     Become part of the Corrupt Crew! Head over to our Patreon for exclusive content, or back us with a one-time PayPal boost!  patreon.com/CorruptPodcast  https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ABXKFYMSYLY5Y    Don't miss out on new Corrupt content! Follow us at: Website: https://corruptpod.podbean.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corrupt.podcast/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568193395303  Threads: https://www.threads.net/@corrupt.podcast  YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CorruptPod    Send case suggestions and feedback to: [email protected]  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. “Everett Gibson | The Planetary Society.” The Planetary Society, https://www.planetary.org/profiles/everett-gibson. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025. “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. Goldstein, Michael. “Sheer Lunacy - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2004, https://www.latimes.com/la-tm-moonrocks23jun06-story.html. “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. Mezrich, Ben. Sex on the Moon. Anchor, 2012. Roberts, Thad. Passages. 2017, p. 187. “Rock Bottom For Aspiring Astronaut - CBS News.” CBS News | Breaking News, Top Stories & Today’s Latest Headlines, https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rock-bottom-for-aspiring-astronaut/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025. “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. Who the Bleep Did I Marry?: Houston We Have a Marital Problem. 2012. 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/.