1 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 1: It's December nineteen seventy two. Canadian Jamie Matthews, age fourteen, 2 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: is sitting comfortably in his airplane seat. It's his first 3 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: trip away from home. Jamie's first love is astronomy, and 4 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: astronomy has earned him the trip of a lifetime. He's 5 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: been to the White House, to NASA's Mission control in Texas, 6 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: to the United Nations, and now he's returning home. But 7 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: there's a problem, and no it's not the airline food. 8 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: Someone is threatening to kidnap Jamie because he has a rock, 9 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: and not just any rock, a moon rock, one retrieved 10 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: by an astronaut two hundred and forty thousand miles from Earth. 11 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 2: This is your captain speaking, Jamie Matthews. Please come to 12 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 2: the front of the plane. Jamie Matthews to the front 13 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: of the plane. Two scary men are here to pick 14 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 2: you up. I repeat, two very serious looking men are 15 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: here to take you away. 16 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: Jamie takes some tentative steps forward. He's just landed in Detroit. 17 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: Two adults in dark suits meet him on the tarmac. 18 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: Now these men are not the kidnappers. They're from the 19 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: United States Secret Service. They explain to Jamie what's happening. 20 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: His parents back in Canada received an alarming phone call 21 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: threatening his safety all because of this rock. They want 22 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: to escort him to the Canadian border just to be safe. 23 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: Because the moon rock isn't exactly a souvenir, it's one 24 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: of the most rare and valueable materials on Earth. It 25 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: could be worth millions. To Jamie, it's worth even more. 26 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: But what the kidnappers don't know is that Jamie doesn't 27 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: have it, not yet anyway, but he will. And the 28 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 1: men who called Jamie's parents, they're not the only ones 29 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: who want a piece of the moon. Welcome to very 30 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm your host, Danish Schwartz, 31 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:42,679 Speaker 1: and this is Operation Lunar Eclipse. Okay, so you know 32 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: how like when kids are like five or six, they 33 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: have like hyper fixations. I feel like it's like dinosaurs, 34 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: it's like trucks. For me, it was like Greek mythology. 35 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: But I feel like for some kids it's also space. 36 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: Were you a space kid, Jason or Zarin? 37 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 3: Oh, you're a space kid completely. 38 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 4: I'm still mad that they took planetary status away from Pluto. 39 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 4: I'm one of those space kids. 40 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: Oh my weird. I mean not weird at all. My 41 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: like space connection is. I grew up in the suburbs 42 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: of Chicago, and when I was in high school, every 43 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: Sunday I would drive down to the Adler Planetarium and 44 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: volunteer all Sunday to like teach kids science and space demonstrations. 45 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 3: Oh wow, I love you for that. That is awesome. 46 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: It was so cool because it's like every kid, I 47 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: mean I was not every kid. I as a dork, 48 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: loved museums and this idea that I had like a badge, 49 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: and I could, like I knew the code to like 50 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: get backstage at the museum. 51 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 5: It was the coolest thing in the world. 52 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 3: You're a museum insider. 53 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 5: I was a museum insider. 54 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: I don't mean to like, you know, big time you 55 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: because I'm a huge celebrity. 56 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I understand. I mean you can brag on that. 57 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 4: That's worth it. Sometimes you got a flex on us. 58 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 5: I taught them about the Moon mission. 59 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: I taught them about gravity, but I had no idea 60 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: about like the legality of buying and owning lunar rocks. 61 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 3: They don't want you to know that that's what it is. 62 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 6: Those kids couldn't handle that. 63 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, we're it's all hidden from all of us. 64 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 1: All right, Well, do you guys want to hear a 65 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: story about stealing moonrocks and they the black market for 66 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: illegal moon rock commerce. 67 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 3: I am buckled up and ready, Jason, you let's blast 68 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 3: off it. 69 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 7: Do some kind of countdown now, just let's just go 70 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 7: to the episode. 71 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: For a kid super into astronomy. Jamie Matthews had more 72 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: run ins with the law than you might have expected, 73 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: not because he was breaking the law, but because police 74 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: kept finding him alone in the middle of the night 75 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: when he was just eight years old in the last 76 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: place you'd expect. 77 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 6: My parents were not rich, and we had a house 78 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 6: that was close to the cemetery, and so that was 79 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 6: the best place to look at the stars. 80 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 5: At night, That's Jamie. 81 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 6: So occasionally the police would come back by and see 82 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 6: this guy. And they would come and see a guy 83 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 6: with a telescope, and so they got me home. I said, yo, 84 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,040 Speaker 6: I knew who I was. 85 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 5: As a kid. 86 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: He lived in Chatham, Ontario. It's rural with lots of 87 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: farms and lots of stargazing. As an only child, his parents, 88 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: Jim and June, bought him a telescope, which Jamie took 89 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: to the darkest part of the neighborhood, the graveyard. There 90 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: he found ink, black skies, and a galaxy to explore. 91 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,559 Speaker 1: Jamie isn't sure where his love of science came from. 92 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: His parents were blue collar workers. Neither was a college graduate, 93 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: but they recognized their son had a fascination, so they 94 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: nourished it any chance they could. 95 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 6: First memory was at two, looking at the stars, and 96 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 6: from then on I was totally gone with the stars. 97 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: Of course, they all watched as Neil Armstrong took Mankind's 98 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: first steps on the Moon during the Apollo eleven mission 99 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty nine. 100 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 8: Paul for Man arm By a faf for man. 101 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: Everyone remembers that it was a monumental milestone of the 102 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: twentieth century, but people tend to forget how quickly the 103 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: world moved on, how easily the impossible became routine. NASA 104 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: continued to visit the Moon in future Apollo missions, six 105 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: of them in all, but each time public interest fell off. 106 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: By the time of the Apollo seventeen mission in December 107 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, NASA had decided this would be the 108 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: last mission for at least a decade to commemorate it. 109 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: NASA and the US State Department sponsored what they called 110 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: the International Youth Science Tour. It worked like this, Every 111 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: country in the UN was invited to send a youth 112 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: representative to watch the final Moon mission. Kids aged fifteen 113 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,679 Speaker 1: to seventeen were eligible. They'd see everything from the launch 114 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: at Kennedy Space Center to the splashdown on TV from 115 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: UN headquarters in New York City. The seventeen day trip 116 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: would also include Disneyland, and the kids would get something 117 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: else besides a front row seat to a Moon mission. 118 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: NASA was arranging for each kid to receive a piece. 119 00:07:57,920 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 5: Of Moon rock. 120 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: They would present it to their country as a good 121 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: will gesture from the United States to the world. Gathering 122 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: moonrocks was a priority of the Apollo missions. The samples 123 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: revealed clues about the age of the Moon and how 124 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: it might have been formed. A Moon rock was one 125 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: sentence or a sentence fragment in the story of our galaxy. 126 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: For Jamie, the chance to hold the rock in his 127 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: hand would come later. For now, his objective was seeing 128 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: a rocket launch, which was plenty exciting. Canada's Youth Science 129 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: Foundation organized an essay contest the topic. The importance of 130 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: space exploration to humanity. I mean, obviously two thousand words 131 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: in which Jamie brought forth a passionate argument for reaching 132 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: the stars and beyond. He and a friend both entered, 133 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: both sent their essays off, and then they waited. In 134 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: November nineteen seventy two, Jamie received a letter from the 135 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: US embassy in Ottawa. There were a few words on 136 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:19,199 Speaker 1: the page, but Jamie just focused on one of them, congratulations. 137 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 5: It said You're. 138 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: Going to the United States. It was somewhat bittersweet. Jamie 139 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: winning meant his friend didn't. There was another wrinkle. Remember 140 00:09:30,679 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: that the contest was only open to kids between fifteen 141 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: and seventeen. Jamie was thirteen. He lied about his age 142 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: when he submitted his essay. 143 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,680 Speaker 6: They found out a little bit before I got there, 144 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 6: but because there are other things that I had to do, 145 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 6: and I guess finally I said that how old I was. 146 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 6: They didn't like it, but by that time it was 147 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 6: too late, so I got to go. 148 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: Jamie had just turned fourteen, so they let it slide. Still, 149 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: he was the youngest of the eighty kids from around 150 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: the world who would see Apollo seventeen touched down on 151 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,200 Speaker 1: the Moon. His parents naturally were thrilled. 152 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 6: Oh, they loved it, so they thought it was wonderful 153 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 6: for me. 154 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: The International Youth Science Tours first stop was in Washington, 155 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: d C. Where a chartered plane delivered an assembly of 156 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: students to the current president, Richard Milhouse Nixon. Nixon was 157 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: a proponent of the space program. He had arranged for 158 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: moon rock samples to be dispensed from the Apollo eleven 159 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: mission and was doing the same for Apollo seventeen. Jamie 160 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: met Nixon, but the President didn't leave much of an impression. 161 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 6: To be honest, I don't remember anything that he did. 162 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 6: I remember shaking his hand, and that's about all I know. 163 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 6: I know, to be honest, that that time. To me, 164 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 6: it was just another guy. So there were other more 165 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 6: people later that I liked, but Nixon nah. 166 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: When the tour moved to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 167 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: Jamie was put in a hotel room next to the 168 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:20,960 Speaker 1: man he really wanted to meet, the first human on 169 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: the moon. 170 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 6: We were in a hotel with Neil Armstrong, and in 171 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 6: fact I with Neil Armstrong. His wife and his kids 172 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 6: were in the pool together for the entire afternoon, and 173 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 6: so I got to do Marco Polo with the man 174 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,199 Speaker 6: that went on the Moon. There you go. 175 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: All of them went to Kennedy Space Center for the 176 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: launch of Apollo seventeen. This launch was notable not only 177 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,839 Speaker 1: for being the last manned Moon mission, but the first 178 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: Saturn five rocket to take off. 179 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 6: At night one zero. 180 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 8: We have a lift dog. 181 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 7: It's just like daylight here at Kennedy Space Center. 182 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 6: The Battern five is moving off the pad. It lifted 183 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,200 Speaker 6: off at mid nate and so it was like the 184 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:16,079 Speaker 6: sun rose. It was really amazing. It really was amazing. 185 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: Jamie and the others were situated about three miles from 186 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: the Saturn rocket. That may not sound close, but consider 187 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: that three miles was roughly the distance any shrapnel would 188 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: be able to travel in the event the rocket blew up. 189 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 8: Yeah. 190 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,559 Speaker 6: Yeah, In fact, it's really loud, but also so loud 191 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,960 Speaker 6: that all of your body is shaking at the time. 192 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:46,199 Speaker 6: It's it's really loud. But it was wonderful. It really was. 193 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 6: I had not known what it would be like, and 194 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 6: no one else will ever see it again, so it 195 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 6: was wonderful for me. 196 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: Later, Jamie went to mission control at the Manned Spacecraft 197 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: in Houston, which is now named for Lyndon Johnson. You've 198 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: seen it or a version of it in practically every 199 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: movie ever made about space travel. Lots of guys with 200 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: flat buzz cuts and short sleeve shirts, sweating over every switch, 201 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: flipped and root to the moon. But Jamie got to 202 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: see the real thing in person on a screen. Astronauts 203 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt traversed the lunar surface. Cernan 204 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: was the commander, Schmidt the co pilot, and the only 205 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: trained geologist to ever visit the Moon. 206 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 8: There mark gravity okay down to get to. 207 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: Work, the men leapt between boulders the size of U 208 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: haul trailers in the Moon's Taurus litro valley. They rode 209 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: a lunar rover over uneven terrain and they chipped away rock, 210 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: coming away with one sample, in particular the size of 211 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,560 Speaker 1: a brick. But it was when Eugene Sernon spoke to 212 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: the camera that the Youth Tour really began to perk up. 213 00:14:13,559 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 6: During the moonwalks, we were there at mission control and 214 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 6: then on the last moonwalk just before they left the moon, Sunan, 215 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 6: who was the captain, and Smith, who was the other 216 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 6: person on the moon. They got a big rock, and 217 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 6: they brought it to the camera and said, this is 218 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 6: for you, this is for us. They said, when they 219 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 6: gets back to Earth, they'll you get it into small 220 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 6: places and each of us will get one. 221 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 3: And we did so. 222 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 6: Yeah, the Moon Rock was what we're getting that. It 223 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 6: was wonderful, It really was. 224 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: Here's what Eugene Cernan said to the kids that. 225 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 8: Day, when we return this rock. Are some of the 226 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 8: others like it? The Houston, we'd like to share a 227 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 8: piece of this rock, but so many of the countries 228 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 8: throughout the world. We hope that this will be a 229 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 8: symbol of what our feelings are, what the feelings of 230 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 8: the Apollo program are, and a symbol of mankind that 231 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 8: we can live in peace and harmony in the future. 232 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: The tour wound down after that, Jamie and the others 233 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: watched on TV from the United Nations Building as the 234 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: capsule splashed down, and soon Jamie was headed back home 235 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: to be escorted to the Canadian border by Secret Service agents. 236 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: But Jamie wasn't yet in possession of the rock. 237 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 6: No well, because it was on the moot, So they 238 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 6: had to wait until they got back and then they 239 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 6: had this right get into little pieces and then each 240 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 6: one was not in a peaks of plastic. And then 241 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 6: it got to me like in a month or so, 242 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 6: so somebody had held them and said that they were 243 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 6: going to kidnap me and the rock, even though it 244 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 6: wasn't there. 245 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: The police guarded his house for a few months afterward. 246 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: Eventually they grew satisfied that the kidnapping threat against Jamie 247 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: would never materialize. This isn't a story, by the way, 248 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: about a young Canadian science enthusiast getting kidnapped, but that 249 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: young Canadian moonrock. The brick sized moonrock would be analyzed 250 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 1: by NASA scientists before it was divvied up for one 251 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five countries plus every US state and territory. 252 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: A few weeks later, via special delivery, Canada's Peace arrived 253 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: on Jamie's front doorstep. The rock fragment was encased in looseight. 254 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: Below it was a Canadian flag which had been brought 255 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 1: to the Moon and back. The junior astronomer was in 256 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 1: possession of something very few civilians have ever seen up close, 257 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 1: a moon rock, a little over one gram in size. 258 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 6: It was very dark. People don't realize that the moon 259 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,199 Speaker 6: is really dark. We only see it because it's in 260 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 6: the sky at night. But if you look at it 261 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 6: without that, it reflects only about five six seven percent 262 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 6: of the light from the sun, so it's almost like carcoal. 263 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: Jamie didn't put it in a safety deposit box, nor 264 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 1: did he stick it anywhere for safe keeping. It went 265 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: in a shoe box under his bed, where it could 266 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: be periodically pulled out to show family or friends, or 267 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: just to stare at before going to bed. Once it 268 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: even wound up in the family car. 269 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 6: It was in our car without theos locked at all 270 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 6: for about two hours, and it was just there. Somebody 271 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 6: could have done it. 272 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,959 Speaker 1: But Jamie had been only a temporary custodian. The moondust 273 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,719 Speaker 1: sprinkled over his life for a fleeting period of time. 274 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: In early nineteen seventy three, he got a notice it 275 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 1: was time to hand the moon Rock over to its 276 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: intended recipient, the country of Canada. During a ceremony at 277 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Jamie dutifully but dolefully handed over 278 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: the rock to Roland Missioner, the Governor General. Because Canada 279 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: didn't want him to leave empty handed, they prepared a 280 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: gift for him in return. 281 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 6: You know what I got in Retune. I got a 282 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,440 Speaker 6: book called the Birds of Canada. 283 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 1: Did Canada confuse astronomy with ornithology? Jamie never found out 284 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: why he was given a book about birds. Maybe it's 285 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: all they had lying around. But Governor General Mishner was 286 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: not the final stop for the moon Rock. It was 287 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: given to the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa, 288 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,680 Speaker 1: and for Jamie it was like being forced to put 289 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: it up for adoption. He agonized over the rocks well 290 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: being for. 291 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,280 Speaker 6: A few years. I didn't go and see it, but 292 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 6: I would call them occasionally and just say how is it. 293 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: Then in nineteen seventy eight, Jamie made his customary call. 294 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,679 Speaker 1: The museum had some bad news for Jamie. 295 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:40,199 Speaker 6: I called and it was gone and they said that 296 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 6: it was stolen, And I thought, jeez, if you could 297 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 6: have done that, I should have just kept it in 298 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 6: a jew box in my bed. 299 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 1: There was a reason the US government dispatched the Secret 300 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: Service to meet Jamie Matthews at the airport. Of course, 301 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: they were concerned for the welfare of a child on 302 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: a good will trip to improve foreign relations, but there 303 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: was another factor at play. Moon rocks are one of 304 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: the great black markets in the world. They're worth millions. 305 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 9: This moon rock ended up in my pocket for almost 306 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 9: twenty four hours. 307 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 1: That's Joseph Goudheims. Joseph has one heck of a resume. 308 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 9: Started off as an Army aviator and intelligence officer and 309 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 9: went to work for the FA. I was recruited away 310 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 9: as a special agent, recruited away from the FA by 311 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:44,960 Speaker 9: US Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. And then 312 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 9: I was recruited away from DOTIG by NASA Origent, where 313 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 9: I served for about ten years a loooover actually as 314 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 9: a senior special agent, which means I headed up task 315 00:20:58,640 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 9: force investigations. 316 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: That's right, NASA has special agents. They're armed, they can 317 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: make arrests. They look into things like missing NASA property, 318 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: people pretending to be astronauts, and cybercrime. How this isn't 319 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 1: a CSI spin off yet is beyond me. But anyway, 320 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: In the late nineteen nineties, Joseph took note of the 321 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 1: fact that a number of the moon rocks gifted by 322 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: the United States to foreign governments couldn't be accounted for. 323 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: Some countries said they had no record of receiving them. 324 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 1: Others said they had been reported missing or stolen, and 325 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: sometimes Joseph would get word of a con man who 326 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:47,440 Speaker 1: purported to have a moonrock for sale. Usually they didn't, 327 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: it would be a fake, like two brothers who insisted 328 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: their father had been given some moon rocks by astronaut 329 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 1: John Glenn. John Glenn was an astronaut, but he never 330 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: went to the Moon. For the most part, moon rocks 331 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: belong to NASA and the US government. Some have been 332 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: retrieved by Russia and China, and some lunar meteorites have 333 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: landed on Earth, but most moon samples were from the 334 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: Apollo missions. They can only be gifted or loaned out 335 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: by NASA. If anyone acquires an Apollo mission moonrock from 336 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: anyone other than NASA, well that would be wrong. It 337 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,439 Speaker 1: would have to be offered, as in the case of 338 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: the Apollo eleven and seventeen missions. 339 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 9: NASA takes the position, as does the United States, that 340 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 9: nobody can own a moon rock or duns. And so 341 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,959 Speaker 9: we gifted to the nations the world one hundred and 342 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 9: thirty five Paull eleven moon rocks on a stand. And 343 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 9: we gifted to the nations of the world one hundred 344 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 9: and thirty five moon rocks on a plaque like this, 345 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 9: And essentially these were our way of saying, hey, look 346 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 9: all the members of the United Nations were all in 347 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 9: on this together. We may be sending the rockets to 348 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 9: and from the boon, but this is a global effort. 349 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,360 Speaker 1: There is one sort of exception. 350 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 9: The astronauts when they came back from the boom. 351 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: The moon isn't exactly a sterile working environment like coal miners, 352 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,199 Speaker 1: astronauts can come home dirty. 353 00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,359 Speaker 9: They were allowed to keep their gloves and patches, and 354 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 9: on the patches and gloves was lootered debris. And so 355 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 9: there was one astronaut that would actually bang on his 356 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,120 Speaker 9: gloves and cut pieces of his pattions apart and put 357 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:56,760 Speaker 9: him in painting city. And so essentially NASA ruled Okay, 358 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 9: we kind of gifted that away too. 359 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: But for most people who haven't been blasted into space, 360 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 1: being in possession of a lunar rock is suspicious and 361 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: it didn't sit right with Joe. 362 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 9: Risk to our astronauts. Remember we had astronauts guy in 363 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 9: practice and a follow one. These guys were risking their lives. 364 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,120 Speaker 9: They got it, they accomplished something. The world united seeing 365 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:29,879 Speaker 9: Gil Armstrong take that first step down the boom and 366 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 9: the idea that petty thugs would be stealing these moon 367 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 9: rocks for their own wealth something that I never could 368 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 9: understand and it seemed wrong. It's something that I wanted 369 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 9: to accomplish when I was an agent. 370 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: So in nineteen ninety eight, Joseph decided to take a 371 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: closer look at the illicit moon rock market. His idea 372 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: was incredibly simple. He would invite criminals to come to him. 373 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,959 Speaker 9: And essentially what we did was we put an ad 374 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 9: in USA today moon Rocks wanted with an astronaut jumping 375 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 9: on the moon, and I was looking for con artists 376 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 9: to approach me so that we could do the sting operation. 377 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:20,400 Speaker 1: Moon Rocks wanted send asking price. What Joseph expected were 378 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: a series of calls from con artists, and he did 379 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: get some of those, but then he got a call 380 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:28,679 Speaker 1: from someone named Alan. 381 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 9: What we didn't expect guy by the name of Alan 382 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 9: Rosen to call me and say, hey, look, get all 383 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 9: those other guys that are calling you. That's bogus. You're 384 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 9: not you know, nobody's allowed to own a moon rock. 385 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:46,720 Speaker 9: But guess what I've got and it's for sale. And 386 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 9: I said, what's the asking price? He said five billion dollars. 387 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,439 Speaker 1: Alan didn't sound like the others. For one thing, he 388 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 1: had proof he was in possession of a moon rock. 389 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: He sent Joseph ado of the very same plaque used 390 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: in the Goodwill Moonrock Tour, the wooden plaque with the 391 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: country's flag and Nixon's dedication. Alan, however, had taken one 392 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: measure to make a positive identification of which country it 393 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: was from a little more difficult. 394 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 9: The center of the flag was blocked out, as was 395 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 9: the recipient country. We contacted one country after the next, 396 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,400 Speaker 9: and we found out, guess what, nobody knows where their 397 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,920 Speaker 9: moon rocks are. We gifted the moon rocks, and they 398 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,520 Speaker 9: don't know where they are. Some thought they never even 399 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 9: received them. 400 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: Joseph later learned that the rock belonged to Honduras. So 401 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,120 Speaker 1: began the plan for the world's first ever sting operation 402 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,359 Speaker 1: to recover a stolen moonrock. But there was another problem. 403 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 1: Alan knew what he had was very rare and very valuable. 404 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: His asking price was five million dollars. In order to 405 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 1: provide Alan with proof of funds, Joe needed five million 406 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 1: dollars and Nasaid didn't pay him that well. So he 407 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: went to the FBI, who, according to Joseph, told him 408 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,920 Speaker 1: they couldn't help. So he went to the CIA, and 409 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: they couldn't help either. Finally, Joseph called his father, a 410 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: former marine. His father didn't have the money, but he 411 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: had something more valuable, some fatherly advice. His dad told 412 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: him to make a phone call to one person in particular. 413 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 9: And so what we did was we contacted the guy 414 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,520 Speaker 9: by name of h Ross Brung, the billionaire who ran 415 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 9: for president nineteen ninety two, and got through to his 416 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 9: secretary and I said, hey, look, I need a need 417 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 9: a favor I'm looking for somebody. Can't really talk about it, 418 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 9: but if h Ross broke all life, I'll convey that 419 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 9: information to him. 420 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: H Ross Proro was one of the great characters of 421 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen nineties, an excitable Texas billionaire who ran for 422 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 1: president in nineteen ninety two as an independent. He got 423 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:21,800 Speaker 1: almost twenty million votes and lost to Bill Clinton, but 424 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:23,720 Speaker 1: that didn't affect his patriotism. 425 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,159 Speaker 9: Ten seconds later, the phone rings and h Ross pros 426 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 9: on the other side and he goes, hello, Joe, how 427 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 9: can I help you? I said, mister prow what we 428 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 9: need is five million dollars to get back a moon rock. 429 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 9: He goes no problem, and with the money in hand 430 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 9: and the bank willing to give a letter saying that 431 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 9: we had the money, and so forth we set up 432 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 9: staying at a bank in Miami where he had the 433 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 9: moon rock in a vault, and so we put in 434 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,719 Speaker 9: an undercover agent in the bank to pretending be an 435 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:05,440 Speaker 9: official that's going to photograph it. 436 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: Alan agreed to meet in Miami and have a bank 437 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: official photographed the moon rock so Joseph could verify that 438 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: Alan had it. Only the bank official was an undercover agent. 439 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: Joseph and his colleagues were waiting for Alan outside. It 440 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: turned out Alan had acquired the rock from Colonel Argucia Ugarte, 441 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: who claimed he'd been given it in the nineteen seventies 442 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: during political unrest in Honduras. Alan had agreed to buy 443 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: it for fifty thousand dollars. A judge had approved a 444 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: warrant to seize the rock, But now Joseph had to 445 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 1: get it back to NASA, which brings us back to 446 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: his pocket. 447 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 9: And so I fly back from Miami to Houston, and 448 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 9: the boot rocks in my pocket, got a briefcase I've armed, 449 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 9: and the whole nine yards and what I was thinking was, 450 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:05,200 Speaker 9: if someone's going to steal anything, they're going to steal 451 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 9: the briefcase. They're not going to steal what's in my pocket. 452 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:14,320 Speaker 9: And so then we brought that back immediately to Space 453 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 9: Center's Lunar Lab, where it was tested. 454 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: The sting, which was dubbed Operation Lunar Eclipse, was successful. 455 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: Alan Rosen tried to get the rock returned to him 456 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 1: in court, arguing he obtained it legally, but a judge 457 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 1: sided with NASA and ruled the rock had to be 458 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: forfeited to the US government. The Space Agency then returned 459 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: it to Honduras, but NASA didn't have the resources to 460 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,680 Speaker 1: make a hunt for missing moon rocks an ongoing project. 461 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: When Joseph retired from the Space Agency in two thousand, 462 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: he decided to outsource the search to a group he 463 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:57,000 Speaker 1: knew would be very devoted to the cause, his students 464 00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: at the University of Phoenix. 465 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 9: But again, NASA Office of Inspector General is very, very small. 466 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 9: We have under one hundred agents, and so I could 467 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:12,480 Speaker 9: not sell them with the idea of expending resources to 468 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 9: look for moon rocks that we gifted away. And so 469 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 9: when I retired from NASA, i started telling my graduate 470 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 9: criminal justice graduate students, I've got this really great investigative 471 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 9: rill that i want you to go through. It's called 472 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 9: the Moon Rock Project. And here are all the moon 473 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 9: rocks that we're trying to account for all over the world. 474 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 9: I want you to go out and try to find it. 475 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 9: And what we did not realize at the time was 476 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 9: that so many were actually stolen and missing, and that 477 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 9: virtually no country had it in an inventory control system, 478 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 9: that even if they had it, they knew where they were. 479 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 1: Systematically, He and his students tried to chase down as 480 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: many leads as they could for the missing rock, which 481 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: turned up in some surprising places. The Apollo seventeen rock 482 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: gifted to Arkansas was found in the archives of former 483 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 1: Governor Bill Clinton. His predecessor, David Pryor, had received it 484 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy six, and it was probably just packed 485 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: up when Clinton lost reelection in nineteen eighty. He was 486 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,640 Speaker 1: one of three governors who happened to be in possession 487 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: of a rock in Cyprus, the American ambassador had been assassinated. 488 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: A diplomat's relative grabbed the rock and held on to 489 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,880 Speaker 1: it until she read about the missing rocks. In two 490 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:42,080 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, some rocks were in storage, at least 491 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,520 Speaker 1: one probably wound up in a landfill. Joseph and his 492 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:52,160 Speaker 1: team found seventy eight of them, but many are still missing. 493 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,480 Speaker 9: And those are just and again one hundred and fifty 494 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:57,280 Speaker 9: are missing. Some of the states are missing them, the 495 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 9: Orcs missing their Paul Levin. Delaware's missing their apoul eleven. 496 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 9: New Jersey's missing their Poulo seventeen, and a lot of 497 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 9: the nations the world are missing them. No doubt, there's 498 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 9: no doubt in my mind that there is a black market. 499 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 1: But what about Canada's Goodwill Rock, the Jamie Matthews Rock. 500 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,160 Speaker 1: By the time Joseph began his Moon Rock project in 501 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,479 Speaker 1: two thousand and two, Jamie's rock had been missing for 502 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: well over two decades, and it carried a significant price tag. 503 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,200 Speaker 9: One of a kind and to a collector, that's in value. 504 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 9: When we in Operation Lunar Eclipse, and remember this goes 505 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 9: back sometime the seller Alan Rosen offered it to be 506 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:47,880 Speaker 9: for five hundred dollars and I said, oh well, let 507 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 9: me research that and talk to you. And I talked 508 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 9: to some experts in Nassa. Prices that's what they said. 509 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 9: But along the lines of priceless, five million dollars could 510 00:33:59,600 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 9: be a re. 511 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,719 Speaker 1: And as Jo's students began diving into the story, they 512 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: discovered something odd. 513 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,720 Speaker 9: In two thousand and two, they started finding the story 514 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 9: that he's recounting that it was stolen in nineteen seventy eight. 515 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:20,359 Speaker 9: And I'm going to my students, I go, that's not acceptable. 516 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:23,800 Speaker 9: It's not acceptable that you're getting a story that says 517 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:29,680 Speaker 9: it was stolen. Where's the police report, where's the newspaper stories. 518 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 9: You know, this is a piece of Canadian history and 519 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 9: NASA history. Where is the trail? And so they kept 520 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 9: cracking it. 521 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 1: There was no police report and no news stories. Jamie's 522 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: Moonrock was nowhere. For years afterward, Jamie had kept on 523 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,960 Speaker 1: calling the museum asking if the Moonrock had reappeared. 524 00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,320 Speaker 6: I kept calling back like every year to find out, 525 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,319 Speaker 6: and they said, we don't know. And finally, after like 526 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:10,280 Speaker 6: ten years, I just said, Okay, it's never gonna get back. 527 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:15,480 Speaker 1: The nineteen seventies turned into the nineteen eighties. Jamie attended 528 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,439 Speaker 1: the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. 529 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: He got a job. He sometimes forgot about the rock 530 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties turned into the nineteen nineties and then 531 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 1: the two thousands. When something is missing for decades, the 532 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,319 Speaker 1: odds of ever finding it again are slim. The moon 533 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,800 Speaker 1: Rock had officially wound up on the proverbial milk carton. 534 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 1: Then one day in two thousand and eight, Jamie decided 535 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 1: to use the single best investigative tool of them all, Google. 536 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: In two thousand and eight, Jamie wasn't really looking for 537 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:08,040 Speaker 1: the rock fragment, but for the rock itself. He was 538 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 1: hoping to find a picture of the larger piece, the 539 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,799 Speaker 1: one the astronauts of Apollo seventeen had returned to Earth 540 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: with before it was segmented into smaller sections. But when 541 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,320 Speaker 1: he tried googling, he found something else instead. 542 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,359 Speaker 6: And I wanted to get a thing before it was 543 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:30,239 Speaker 6: gotten into all those passes, so the big thing the 544 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 6: first time. So I was looking there, I figured somebody 545 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 6: must have it, and then I found my thing. 546 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,400 Speaker 1: What Jamie found was a photo of a man holding 547 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:46,880 Speaker 1: his moon rock, really Canada's moon rock, but still it 548 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,600 Speaker 1: was on the plaque. The digital photo had a visible 549 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:54,360 Speaker 1: watermark with the date. The photo was from two thousand, 550 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,880 Speaker 1: eight years prior. Jamie was able to trace the origin 551 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:02,600 Speaker 1: of the photo to a storage facility in Aylmer, Quebec, 552 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 1: one that belonged to the museum. He phoned the curator and. 553 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,440 Speaker 6: I said, wait what And so I looked and I 554 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:17,319 Speaker 6: found out that it was in a warehouse in a 555 00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:23,400 Speaker 6: place in Quebec for thirty five years and nobody knows 556 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,839 Speaker 6: how it got there. But as soon as I knew it, 557 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,759 Speaker 6: I called the curator and I said, hey, you've got 558 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,520 Speaker 6: my room rock. It took me a while to say 559 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,400 Speaker 6: because he didn't believe me at first. 560 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:43,280 Speaker 1: As more of the story came out, it seemed increasingly 561 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,120 Speaker 1: unlikely the rock had ever been stolen. The museum had 562 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:52,480 Speaker 1: no record of a theft, Joseph Goudheinz had never found 563 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:56,719 Speaker 1: a police report. More than likely it had been clinton 564 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:01,919 Speaker 1: and misplaced for decades. Here's Joseph Goodheinz again. 565 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 9: What my guess is, and only having dealt with these 566 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:11,960 Speaker 9: all over the world is because nobody accounted for these 567 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,080 Speaker 9: that after they were done with their lou tour, they 568 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,080 Speaker 9: they said, okay, where do we put them over in 569 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,719 Speaker 9: storage over here? They did and it was sort of 570 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:27,360 Speaker 9: like you know in box three thousand and five, who knows, 571 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:31,000 Speaker 9: But they just lost bracket it over the decades. 572 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,440 Speaker 1: But why had the museum told Jamie the rock had 573 00:38:35,480 --> 00:38:38,240 Speaker 1: been stolen instead of misplaced? 574 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,600 Speaker 6: And nobody knows how it got there. So it's a 575 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,560 Speaker 6: little bit like Indiana Jones at the Last movie, except 576 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:50,239 Speaker 6: for me. It's like Indiana Jamie and the Lost Run Rock. 577 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 6: It was just there and nobody knows how it got there. 578 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,560 Speaker 6: Nobody knows because if you go back to that time, 579 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:58,360 Speaker 6: nobody is around anymore. 580 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:02,680 Speaker 1: Maybe they simply wanted him to stop calling. But there's 581 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 1: another wrinkle to the story. Remember that Joseph and his 582 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,160 Speaker 1: graduate students were looking into the rock as early as 583 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:13,560 Speaker 1: two thousand and two. Jamie found the photo in two 584 00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:14,399 Speaker 1: thousand and eight. 585 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,279 Speaker 9: My students actually tracked it down in two thousand and three. 586 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: Then, according to Joseph, his students had actually located the 587 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:27,640 Speaker 1: rock five years earlier, in two thousand and three in Aylmer, 588 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:29,800 Speaker 1: not through Google. 589 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:30,839 Speaker 5: But through detective work. 590 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:35,280 Speaker 1: They called every museum and museum associated building in the area. 591 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:39,080 Speaker 1: The problem was, no one told Jamie. 592 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:43,520 Speaker 9: Well, here's the thing, He's not wrong two thousand. He 593 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,440 Speaker 9: probably did discover it two thousand and eight because the 594 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:51,440 Speaker 9: problem with that Boon Rock is. It was never into 595 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:55,359 Speaker 9: an inventory control system, and maybe there was somebody that 596 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:59,279 Speaker 9: discovered it nineteen ninety five, but to discover it, there 597 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,440 Speaker 9: it is, and then you forget about it. 598 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:06,759 Speaker 1: Jamie didn't realize they had it until two thousand and eight, 599 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:10,280 Speaker 1: and it wasn't until two thousand and nine when Boy 600 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:15,279 Speaker 1: and Rock were reunited. The National Museum of Natural Sciences 601 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:19,240 Speaker 1: now known as the Canadian Museum of Nature wasn't able 602 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:22,080 Speaker 1: to put the Moon Rock back on display, so it 603 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,719 Speaker 1: went to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa 604 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:30,200 Speaker 1: on loan. There, Jamie was able to see it for 605 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 1: the first time in over thirty years. Fittingly, it was 606 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:40,600 Speaker 1: the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo eleven moon landing. Canada's 607 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:44,160 Speaker 1: goodwill Moon Rock is now with the Canadian Museum of Nature, 608 00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:48,520 Speaker 1: where it periodically goes on display. The rock's journey had 609 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:53,359 Speaker 1: been a little murky. Jamie's wasn't. A love of astronomy 610 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:58,120 Speaker 1: turned into a love of astrophysics. He became doctor Jamie 611 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:03,279 Speaker 1: Matthews and then Professor Jamie Matthews, an astrophysicist at the 612 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,400 Speaker 1: University of British Columbia, where he measures the vibrations of 613 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:10,960 Speaker 1: stars too far away to be seen by a telescope 614 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,799 Speaker 1: on Earth, not even a telescope in a cemetery. A 615 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:20,200 Speaker 1: stroke has resulted in some expressive aphasia, a little trouble 616 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 1: finding words, but it hasn't slowed his work. 617 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:25,000 Speaker 5: Or his love for it. 618 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:29,560 Speaker 1: Bearing witness to the Apollo seventeen mission, caring for a 619 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:33,880 Speaker 1: piece of lunar rock set him on a path for life. 620 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,200 Speaker 6: Oh no, it was really good for me. So after 621 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:42,320 Speaker 6: this I did lots of things after that with space 622 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,840 Speaker 6: and astronomy and so on. So no, this was like, 623 00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,239 Speaker 6: come on, how many people have their own moonlock? I mean, 624 00:41:50,320 --> 00:41:55,000 Speaker 6: it's wonderful for me, and so that will always be 625 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,480 Speaker 6: one of the things that I'll like is the fact 626 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:02,560 Speaker 6: that I actually am had a real moon rock. And 627 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,839 Speaker 6: so yeah, I couldn't expect anything more than that, to 628 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:08,360 Speaker 6: be honest. 629 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:12,520 Speaker 1: There was a study released in late twenty twenty three 630 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:17,040 Speaker 1: the Apollo seventeen lunar lander module, which was left behind 631 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:22,280 Speaker 1: on the Moon, may be causing tiny moonquakes small changes 632 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:26,719 Speaker 1: to the lunar surface from the materials expanding and contracting 633 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:31,439 Speaker 1: with temperature changes. But Apollo seventeen has been causing those 634 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:36,400 Speaker 1: tremors For a long time. The mission reverberated through dozens 635 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:40,360 Speaker 1: of teenagers who were invited to witness history in nineteen 636 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 1: seventy two, Through people like Joseph Goodheitz, who want to 637 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:48,719 Speaker 1: protect the legacy of those missions, missions that were only 638 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:54,760 Speaker 1: possible because astronauts sacrificed themselves in our pursuit of lofty goals, 639 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:59,720 Speaker 1: And through Jamie Matthews, who for a brief time owned 640 00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:03,080 Speaker 1: a tiny piece of it all and got a book 641 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:04,520 Speaker 1: about birds in return. 642 00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:09,200 Speaker 6: And I still have it, of course, So no, now 643 00:43:09,239 --> 00:43:12,360 Speaker 6: it's it really is nice for me, But at the 644 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:14,680 Speaker 6: time it was like birds. 645 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:22,040 Speaker 1: Nah, okay, I have to feel like coming back that. 646 00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:25,640 Speaker 1: Playing Marco Polo with Neil Armstrong is like maybe the 647 00:43:25,719 --> 00:43:27,000 Speaker 1: biggest flex of all time. 648 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 4: Oh are you kidding me? He touched the moon? You 649 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:30,840 Speaker 4: got touch him playing Marco Polo. I mean, not to 650 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,239 Speaker 4: be weird about it, but you're like, Neil Boom got you. 651 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:34,280 Speaker 3: That's crazy. 652 00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:36,359 Speaker 1: He touched the moon and so if you touched him, 653 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:37,719 Speaker 1: it's like you've touched the moon. 654 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:40,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like two degrees of Kevin Bacon but the moon. 655 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,440 Speaker 7: And in that story he just casually mentions like, oh, Yeah, 656 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:48,399 Speaker 7: I met Richard Nixon, but nah didn't do anything for him. 657 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, so good. 658 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:51,120 Speaker 6: I love Jamie. 659 00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:54,239 Speaker 1: I have to say, though, like living in LA and 660 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,240 Speaker 1: like pitching TV constantly, you're always like talking to network 661 00:43:57,280 --> 00:43:59,640 Speaker 1: executives who are just like we're looking for like the 662 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,719 Speaker 1: next procedural we really want, just like a crime procedural. 663 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:07,360 Speaker 5: And I'm like, where is NASA's Special Agents? Where's that show? 664 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:09,920 Speaker 3: I mean that is like CBS written all over it. 665 00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:12,400 Speaker 5: Oh God, right CSI, NASA? 666 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, are you kidding me? 667 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:13,880 Speaker 9: Now? 668 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:16,040 Speaker 4: Did you guys have a very special character of this 669 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:17,320 Speaker 4: episode that was your favorite? 670 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,560 Speaker 3: Do you have one that just jumped out for you? Hmm? 671 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:23,600 Speaker 7: Jason, I was thinking about going with Neil Armstrong and 672 00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,840 Speaker 7: his wife and kids splashing around the pool, which. 673 00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:28,320 Speaker 6: Just was a cool cameo. 674 00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:31,960 Speaker 3: But did we just talked about Neil? 675 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:34,760 Speaker 1: I actually think the very special character in this episode 676 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,760 Speaker 1: is me, Dana Schwartz, the volunteer at the Adler Planetarium, 677 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:43,000 Speaker 1: tangentially related to the story, just devoted to educating the 678 00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:45,160 Speaker 1: next generation of space loving kids. 679 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:47,680 Speaker 3: Actually, I have a different character. 680 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:49,920 Speaker 6: Let me just is it awesome? Me? 681 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 7: How about the guy at the museum who, after fielding 682 00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:58,920 Speaker 7: these calls for several years, just decides like, I know 683 00:44:59,000 --> 00:44:59,920 Speaker 7: how to put an end to this. 684 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:00,200 Speaker 2: This. 685 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:05,840 Speaker 7: I'll tell him it's stolen. What a great way to 686 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,080 Speaker 7: get someone off your back. 687 00:45:07,239 --> 00:45:08,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, that is one hundred percent a great way to 688 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:10,200 Speaker 4: get someone off your back. In fact, I think I've 689 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:11,799 Speaker 4: done that. They're like, oh, I don't know where it 690 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:15,200 Speaker 4: is your carb has stolen? Man to stop calling me now, Dan, 691 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:17,840 Speaker 4: I gotta say, in all honesty, you were also my 692 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,400 Speaker 4: favorite Special Episode characters. So I don't know what you 693 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:22,680 Speaker 4: know why Jason was thinking, but I went with you too. 694 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:25,120 Speaker 5: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. 695 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:26,239 Speaker 6: Top five, Top five. 696 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:28,800 Speaker 4: Yeah, come on, volunteers. We got to support the volunteers. 697 00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:29,640 Speaker 4: Do it for love. 698 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:37,880 Speaker 7: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 699 00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:43,840 Speaker 7: This episode was written by Jake Rawson. Our producer, editor 700 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:49,280 Speaker 7: and sound designer is Josh Fisher. Additional editing by John Washington, 701 00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,920 Speaker 7: Mixing and mastering by Behead Fraser. Very Special Episodes is 702 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:58,680 Speaker 7: hosted by Danis Schwartz, Sarah Burnette and me Jason English. 703 00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:03,960 Speaker 7: Original music by Lise McCoy. Our story editor is Marisa Brown. 704 00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:08,640 Speaker 7: Research in fact checking by Marissa Brown Austin Thompson and 705 00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:14,640 Speaker 7: Jake Rawson. Show logo by Lucy Kntania. Our executive producer 706 00:46:14,719 --> 00:46:18,080 Speaker 7: is me Jason English. Go to see you back here 707 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:22,799 Speaker 7: next week after our first Very Special field trip Very 708 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:25,919 Speaker 7: Special Episodes is a production of iHeart Podcasts.