

How an Intern Stole NASA's Moon Rocks - barry-cotter
http://gizmodo.com/5242736/how-an-intern-stole-nasas-moon-rocks

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sdurkin
"While the theft of the lunar and martian geological samples had made
headlines last summer, the missing clothbound journals, the work of NASA
Senior Scientist Everett K. Gibson Jr. on the origins of the universe, were
unknown publicly until the trial."
<http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-072202a.html#04>

...What? You honestly want me to believe that NASA had secret research on the
origins of the universe squirreled away in one of the most secure locations on
Earth? That's borderline conspiracy theory territory.

What made that file worth hiding in the same vault as the lunar and Martian
samples?

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pierrefar
_What made that file worth hiding in the same vault as the lunar and Martian
samples?_

Maybe a boring scientific reason like the vault was environmentally controlled
so the clothbound journals were better stored there?

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sdurkin
Excellent reasonable answer. But isn't this space very valuable?

Its not only climate controlled, but protected by a variety of security
measures. All of these are expensive. So you would assume that whatever goes
into the vault would have to be worth these expenses.

Then again, people are people, and tend to shove things where they'll fit.
Another interesting point: NASA listed the journals as stolen, but Roberts
denies he ever had them.

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sdurkin
Hmm... Why not put an armed guard directly in front of the vault? In my
experience, most geeks don't mind fooling sensors, but blanche at the thought
of physically hurting someone.

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eru
Yes. And no need to arm the guard.

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mattmichielsen
Interesting, even if the author suggests that Sneakers is a bad movie.

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pj
_Tiffany and Thad arranged the moon rocks on a bed—and had sex amongst them._

That's the hottest scene in a geek movie _ever_.

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javert
This is fake, right?

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vulpes
This is most definitely real, as indicated by trials and served time of the
individuals responsible.

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DanielBMarkham
_Building 31 North is one of the few buildings on earth constructed under
Class 100 standards:it is a structure that can withstand 1000 years of water
submersion, among other durability metrics that should not be tested this side
of Armageddon._

Sounds really cool, but that's not what Class 100 is. From Wiki.

 _Cleanrooms are classified according to the number and size of particles
permitted per volume of air. Large numbers like "class 100" or "class 1000"
refer to FED-STD-209E, and denote the number of particles of size 0.5 µm or
larger permitted per cubic foot of air_

I smell more than just a little embellishment.

The cool thing about artistic license is supposed to be _the readers never see
it_. It's supposed to meld right into everything else.

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sfphotoarts
If the original Lunar video tapes are gone, and so are the rocks, I am back to
thinking that NASA faked the whole moon landing...

