The ad promised the moon -- literally. For about $2,000 to $8,000 a gram, the sellers promised, you could own one of the "priceless" moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts from 1969 to 1972. FBI agents took up the offer, arresting three people at an Orlando-area hotel and another in Houston on charges of peddling stolen moon rocks and meteorites from the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, where three were student interns who have racked up numerous achievements. Read more
An American woman is being questioned in California for allegedly trying to sell a moon rock for $1.7m (£1.05m). The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was held in a sting operation when she showed the rock to a Nasa investigator in Lake Elsinore. Moon rocks are considered national treasure in the United States and their sale is illegal. Read more
NASA sting leads to arrest of woman allegedly trying to sell moon rock for $1.7 million
A woman claiming to sell a moon rock was arrested in Lake Elsinore on Thursday morning as part of an undercover sting by NASA investigators aided by local police. The investigation, which spanned several months, led to a covert meeting in a Lake Elsinore restaurant on Grape Street where undercover NASA officials agreed to buy the rock for $1.7 million, according to a report by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Read more