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ShareWashington: A detained US scientist, who played a key role in India's 'Chandrayaan' mission in finding evidence of water on the Moon, had sought to sell top US secrets to Israel for a sum of $2 million, federal prosecutors have charged.
Stewart D Nozette, 52, a Nasa scientist and Maryland resident, was taken into custody by FBI last week on charges of espionage for Israel.
He had served 16 years in sensitive positions in various wings of the federal government, including the White House, Nasa and Energy Department and assisted in the development of the Clementine bi-static radar experiment which purportedly discovered water ice on the south pole of the Moon.
According to the grand jury indictment, the information which Nozette tried to provide to Israel included directly concerned satellites, early warning systems, means of defence or retaliation against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information and major defence strategy elements.
Federal prosecutors charged that Nozette had sought to sell the top US secrets for $2 million.
The Washington Post, in a recent report, claimed that Nozette had threatened to sell secretes to Israel or India, if authorities tried to put him behind bar in a fraud case against him, in which he had pleaded guilty early this year.
However there is no mention to India in any of the affidavits or indictments, expect for direct mentioning of Israel, and an unnamed 'Country A'.
