On July 15, 2019, The United States of America praised, recognized, and celebrated the 50th anniversary of Niel Armstrong’s moon landing. This accomplishment put space exploration in the top headlines, however, it seems that NASA once again is catching attention but for an unlikely reason. 

   It is under investigation currently that an astronaut had committed the first-ever crime while in space. While the claim is nothing detrimental, this could open the window into a whole new conflict. Well-respected and experienced Anne McClain currently is under the accusation of identity theft from the International Space Station. 

   However, a lot of the evidence as well as McClain’s claim explain that the whole situation may be a misunderstanding. She logged into the bank accounts of her past spouse, Summer Worden, using passwords that were never changed after the separation.

   The case was prompted by Worden as she complained, and as for now, McClain is being tried. 

   McClain has participated in other expeditions with NASA and holds the position of a  lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. Her most recent trip was to the International Space Station as the Flight Engineer for Expedition 58/59. With this amazing resume, the country questions if she truly did commit this offense. 

   For the first time, the US government had to enact the policy that “on the International Space Station, which houses five countries’ space agencies—if an American commits a crime on board, they’re subject to United States law, and so on and so forth,” according to BBC. 

   While this seems like a harmless violation on land, it presses several questions and draws media attention due to the this all occurring in space.