The Central Intelligence Agency kept a 1961 translation of the “Atlas of the Far Side of the Moon” marked as “For Official Use Only” in its archives for just shy of 50 years.

The current President of the United States has prompted a new conversation in the hallowed halls of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: What will be the actual role of the US Space Force? A FOIA request filed in August of 2018 reveals that beyond just plans for a more militarized space, NASA is deeply dedicated and invested to the privatization and commercialization of the final frontier.

Memos show James Webb, who led the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for much of the ‘60s, regularly checked in with the Central Intelligence Agency as part of his roles at the State Department and NASA.

Memos unearthed in the Central Intelligence Agency archives show that at the height of Reagan’s renewed Cold War, the CIA’s Deputy Director - future Secretary of Defense Robert Gates - suggested that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration counter Soviet ambitions of a manned mission to Mars by establishing a permanent base on the moon.

Through FOIA, Motherboard’s Jason Koebler managed to receive a handful of investigatory reports from NASA’s Inspector General, covering cases as weird as satellite parts ending up on eBay or a “wheelbarrow full” of sensitive documents ending up in a off-site dumpster. However, no case is stranger - or sadder - than the “stolen moon rocks.”

Astronaut Neil Armstrong’s 18-page FBI file relates mostly to name checks for presidential appointments. A visit by two tourists to Armstrong’s home town, however, caused concern.