A recent NASA operation (who knew they do this stuff ?) busted a woman who was trying to sell what she claimed was a piece of the Moon for the meager price of 1.7 million dollars. This came as a result of months of targeting her, after rumour spread that she was selling such items. The decisive meeting between the two parties took place at a restaurant in Lake Elsinore, where the woman gave the price to an undercover NASA agent.

“After conversation, the moon rock was produced inside the restaurant (and) several (sheriff’s) investigators and NASA agents moved in on the suspect, took possession of the rock and detained the suspect,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Paulin in an interview with KPSP Local 2 News.

In case you didn’t know, the pieces brought back from the Moon are considered national treasures, and as a consequence, it is illegal to sell or buy them. This does leave one legitimate question – was she really selling a piece from the Moon, or was it all just a scam ? There are more than 100 such pieces which have somehow remained unaccounted for during the years, so it’s quite possible. About 300 rocks were brought back to the US during the Apollo missions, and they were distributed throughout the 50 states, and even some foreign countries; but don’t let the name fool you, the ‘rocks’ vary in weight from 0.05 grams to about two grams. The story gets even more interesting: the Netherlands national museum announced that it had tested its own moon rock, and found that it actually was a piece of petrified wood and nothing more.

So what ever happened to the moon rocks? Officially at least, nobody knows. As for the woman in case, if the piece turns out to be genuine, she will be in more trouble than if it was a fake; and if it is a fake, it’s still uncertain what kind of charges she might face.

Enjoyed this article? Join 40,000+ subscribers to the ZME Science newsletter. Subscribe now!