On some occasions, reality can surpass fiction. That was the case of a woman who tried to sell a supposed moon rock for more than one million euros ($ 1.7 million) on the Internet. However, the sale never came to fruition because the expected buyer was actually an undercover NASA agent.
The operation took place in California (in Riverside County) after several months of investigation. Thus, the woman was detained by the authorities in the restaurant where she had met with the buyer, although she was not arrested since the agents had to verify that the rock was really of lunar origin.
When the undercover agent agreed to buy the rock, the woman went to the restaurant where they had agreed to meet. Later, several police officers approached the suspect and took possession of the moon rock. At the same time, they began an interrogation to find out if it was a genuine rock and how he got it, as moon rocks are considered a national treasure and it is illegal to sell them.
During the special Apollo program, NASA sent approximately 2,200 moonstones, soil samples, and other materials from our planet’s satellite to Earth. Also, at first the woman tried to sell the moonstone through the auction website eBay.
It is not the first time that it happens
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that someone has tried to sell a moon rock, as NASA agents have had to intervene on several occasions to recover moon rocks (both real and fake). In fact, in 1995 NASA agents thought they were going to recover lost material from the second moon landing after a New York auction house announced the sale of a moon rock. The sample disappeared in the 1970s when the registered mail of which it was a part was stolen.
Instead, what NASA discovered was a real hoax, since the rock was of earthly origin. However, NASA covert operations have recovered at least two authentic lunar samples.
