"Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History" by Ben Mezrich tells the true story of a young man named Thad Roberts who masterminded the first crime ever to take place in NASA.

Raised as a Mormon, Thad was kicked out of his house when he confessed to having sex with his girlfriend. He married an early age and used his brilliant mind to get ahead in the world. He became a co-op at the NASA program in Texas. His brilliance and outgoing personality made him a favorite among students as well as mentors.

Thad specialized in geology but also had an interest in astronomy and physics. He hoped to someday become an astronaut. One thing Thad knew for certain was that he loved being the center of attention. He gained popularity by setting up exciting adventures for others and for himself. One time he sneaked into the flight simulator.

During one of his tours as a co-op, Thad learned about some lunar rock that was held in a vault. It was considered trash by NASA. He thought that was a big waste and began to scheme on how to sell some of it. After all, he reasoned, he could use the money from the sale to further educate himself. That way, it would all be for the good of NASA.

Thad placed an advertisement on the Internet with the help of a new friend named Gordon. A rock collector in Germany saw his ad and felt that something was amiss. He contacted the FBI back in the United States.

Thad viewed the sale as a game at first. While he was arranging the heist and the sale, he was developing a relationship with a girl he was totally in love with. His marriage had been falling apart, and Rebecca, who also worked at NASA, seemed to reach his soul. She became his catalyst and eventually his accomplice, along with his friend Sondra and Gordon.

They set up the heist and it went relatively smoothly until Thad realized that he was in an esteemed professor's office instead of at the vault he had initially intended to raid. He took the professor's safe of samples instead. Later, he realized the collection contained moon rock from each of the missions as well as the rock that proved there was life on Mars. He and his girlfriend, Rebecca, had sex on a mattress with a vial of moon dust from Armstrong's mission tucked beneath them, thereby having sex on the moon.

Thad believed things were going well as he drove to Florida for the sale. The man from Germany had been working together with the FBI to create a sting operation. Agents posed as buyers representing the man in Europe. Thad didn't suspect anything, right up to the moment they arrested him in the hotel parking lot. He loved Rebecca so much that he didn't want her incarcerated. He told her to say that she was coerced, and he took full blame for the crime. In court, he was charged with crimes against the country and received a sentence that included over 8 years of incarceration.

Thad was moved to a medium security prison and he wrote letters to Rebecca in order to stay sane and to share his love. He began to teach an astronomy class for fellow prisoners and studied some physics himself. One day he discovered that his letters were never received by Rebecca, and he lost his desire to live for a while. Eventually, he began teaching and studying again.

A former friend from high school visited him regularly. When Thad was released, he left the prison with his own written work on quantum physics under his arm. His goal was to go back to the university and continue his education.