NASA investigates the possible first crime of space

A first, above our heads, in space. This is not a technological or scientific discovery for the good of all. It's just a sign that humanity is also exporting its torments to space. For the first time, an investigation is underway for a crime in space. It's a case of identity theft.

She's aiming for Ann McClain. Lieutenant Colonel of the US Army, this experienced pilot was decorated for his missions in Iraq. She joined NASA 6 years ago, which plans to choose her to be the first woman on the moon. She has just spent six months in the International Space Station from December to June 2019.

Ann McLain was to participate last March in the first spacewalk of two women, but this was canceled at the last moment. At the time NASA had explained that only one suit adapted to their size was available. But now we learn that a few days ago, his wife, Summer Worden, from whom she is separated, seized NASA for to accuse the astronaut.

A difficult separation

She criticizes Ann McLain for having accessed, from space, her accounts banking, using his identifiers. Summer Worden discovered it because she is a former intelligence service of the US Air Force. She managed to trace the computer that accessed her bank accounts to the International Space Station. The wife also accuses the astronaut of sending him emails threatening tone by reproaching him for his expenses.

Ann McLain does not deny having used the identifiers of her ex-wife, from space, to enter the bank accounts, but assures that she just wanted to make sure there was enough money to cover the expenses for their child. And that she has entered the passwords she used already when they were in a relationship. Their separation goes very badly, to the point that Ann McLain went to court to obtain parental custody over the child of his wife.

This case, revealed by the New York Times, is an interesting precedent. This is the first time this has happened but certainly not the last. As a space lawyer says: "The more we go into space and spend time up there, the more we do here will also happen in space".

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