Most people grow up wanting to be athletes, doctors, or astronauts.
You know what job you don't hear as often?
Space criminal.
"Let's be bad guys."
But all that might change thanks to Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut who has been accused of the
world's first space crime.
A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, McClain faces allegations that she accessed her estranged
wife's bank account during her 203 day mission aboard the International Space Station in
early 2019.
If she is convicted, she'll be the world's first convicted space criminal, and way more
popular at parties.
"The cool thing about crying in space, Michael, is that your tears keep floatin' around hours
after you cried 'em."
NASA caught wind of the case when McClain's wife Summer Worden filed a complaint with
the agency's Office of Inspector General, which accused the astronaut of identity theft
and accessing private financial records.
Worden first noticed something was up after McClain revealed "intimate details" related
to her finances.
With a background as an Air Force intelligence officer, Worden asked her bank to trace the
locations of computers that had recently accessed her account.
According to a New York Times investigation, the bank told Worden that one of the computers
which had accessed her account was registered to NASA, pointing to the possibility of her
estranged spouse doing a bit of interstellar creeping.
CBS reports that the couple is currently embroiled in a legal separation and child custody dispute,
adding a touch of romantic drama to this sci-fi episode of Jerry Springer.
Contradictory claims from both sides make it hard to determine who, if anyone, is being
totally honest.
While McClain admits to accessing the bank account, she admits no wrongdoing, claiming
she logged in just to make sure Worden had enough cash to pay bills and care for her
child.
She also stated that the password she used was the same it had always been and that she
had received no indication that Worden did not want her to access the account.
However, Worden's parents described McClain's actions as part of a, quote, "highly calculated
and manipulated campaign" to gain custody of Worden's son, born around a year before
the couple married.
McClain has taken to Twitter to proclaim …
"There's unequivocally no truth to these claims."
Trouble had already been brewing for the couple, who married in 2014.
Just a few years later, McClain filed for divorce after accusing her spouse of assault
- a charge which Worden denies, citing the accusation as another of McClain's plots to
gain custody of her son.
This timeless Earthly tale of love lost has grounded what was once a promising career
for McClain, who joined NASA in 2013 after a decade of army service.
Her personal legal issues, along with a bit of untimely equipment error, forced her to
miss being part of the first all-female spacewalk.
But there's still hope for the astronaut, who NASA had shortlisted as one of 12 candidates
to be the first female to walk the moon by 2024.
Far from publicly condemning the astronaut, NASA declined to comment on, quote, "personal
or personnel matters," instead choosing to tout her accomplishments and commend her work
aboard the International Space Station.
In a statement to CBS, NASA described McClain's, quote, "accomplished military career," citing
the aerial combat missions she flew in Iraq before describing her as, quote, "one of NASA's
top astronauts."
Given that this incident is the first real legal spat ever involving space, there's a
chance the outcome could end up setting an international precedent with long-term consequences.
Wherever the money goes, legal trouble is soon to follow, and according to an in-depth
Union Bank of Switzerland report, the space sector is forecasted to skyrocket, reaching
nearly $1 trillion by 2040 on the comet-tails of space tourism, communications and asteroid
mining industries.
On the other hand, it all may soon be forgotten - chalked up to nothing more than a lover's
quarrel with a twist, and an interesting footnote in legal history.
Maybe the pair will reconcile after they learn they just needed some …wait for it… space.
Maybe they'll never speak again, with McClain claiming she could never get a "Worden" edge-wise.
Either way, we won't know until the moondust has settled and the investigation is finalized.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.