NASA Sting: Riverside Woman Tries to Sell 'Moon Rock' to Feds for $1.7M

By Simone Wilson Fri., May 20 2011 at 12:45 PM

Los Angeles Times

What dork in his right mind would offer $1.7 million for a big drab hunk of moon, you ask? Turns out the feds will -- but a Riverside woman found out the hard way, via cutty deal at a desolate Lake Elsinore diner, that they're not so much good for their money.

The undercover NASA brainiacs traded their rocket wear for a sketch disguise as Joe-blow millionaires, the finale of a months-long investigation. (Moon rocks are apparently "national treasures.") The Riverside County Sheriff's Department describes the Thursday-morning dogpile of deputies and cops and, uh, astronauts:

After conversation, the moon rock was produced inside the restaurant. Several Lake Elsinore Police investigators and NASA agents moved in on the suspect, took possession of the moon rock and detained the female.

The department alleges that "moon rocks and other space travel artifacts ... are not to be sold on any market." Does that exclude the Interwebs? Because we've been scoping multiple online moon-rock retailers (it's actually one of our hobbies), and these "artifacts" appear to be very much up for sale.

The pitch: "Have you got your piece of the Moon yet?"

Why no, we haven't! Here's what Lunar Meteorite Store has to offer:

Lunar Meteorite Store

Find: October 2006!!!
Classification: Achondrite (Lunar); extensive shock!!! a RARE unbrecciated Basalt!!!
TKW: 1.37 Kilos!!!
Location: Rissani, Morocco!!!
Specimen weight: 9.46 grams!!!
Specimen Type: Wire cut World Class Slice!!!
FREE Membrane case!!!

Thanks, but no thanks: We prefer our moon rocks bulbous and scraggly, like that beaut from the NASA sting.

Well, if it was even a moon rock at all; NASA officials say the investigation is still ongoing. Maybe they should turn a magnifying glass to the Interwebs in the meantime?

[@simone_electra/swilson@laweekly.com]

Tags:

Lake Elsinore, moon rock, NASA, Riverside County Sheriff, sting

We Recommend

Deji Olukotun

Hi Simone -

Thank you for sharing. I actually wrote a short story about this, entitled "The Moon Rock Thief", about a Nigerian scientist at NASA who is lured back to his homeland--provided he takes something with him. It's the first chapter of a Pushcart prize nominated longer work. Crazy that something I had imagined would turn out to be partially true!

I just uploaded the short story onto the Kindle store.

Hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,Deji

Barneybosco

I think it's pretty sad that this lady has to go through all this. If these moon rocks were so important to Nasa and the Feds why didnt they collect the moon rocks from the astronauts when they got off the shuttle? And why were these astronauts aloud to take these moon rocks home and do as they please with them if they were national treasures? C'mon now, I'm no dummy, something is going on here. What,did Nasa and the Feds all of the sudden,when they heard that there was some women who had a moon rock for sale,make it against the law? If it was'nt against the law for the astronuats to collect them and take them home and keep them for themselves or trade/sale/or give them to people as gifts,then why is it against the law now. That women should sue Nasa and the feds period and keep her damn moon rock!!!