--- description: NASA engineer Mark Rober came up with a sparkly way to thwart would-be thieves trying to steal packages from his doorstep. title: NASA Engineer Makes Glitter Bomb to Thwart Package Thieves image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda7f491d588a76d1/698941cfdb298749a92617c1/glitter-bomb-package-thief.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NASA Engineer Came Up With a Sparkly Way to Thwart Package Thieves  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2018 7:08 PM CUT  mikroman6—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 18, 2018 7:08 PM CUT A resourceful [NASA engineer](http://time.com/5458488/international-space-station-20-years-anniversary/ "undefined") used both his industry expertise and some clever creativity to thwart thieves stealing packages from his porch. Mark Rober, an engineer for NASA, came up with a sparkling, ingenius solution to stop bandits with [a glitter bomb disguised as a parcel](http://time.com/3665913/glitter-enemies-website/ "undefined"). In a YouTube video, Rober demonstrates what happens when a would-be thief attempts to steal what looks like an Apple Home Pod delivered to his home; when the package is opened, it sprays fine glitter everywhere and repeatedly distributes fart-scented spray in the air. The design took 6 months to develop and uses GPS technology, four cameras and lots of super fine glitter, among other tools. A note to would-be package thieves: you might want to think twice before taking a package from Rober or others — it could lead to your demise via lots of shiny, sparkling glitter. Watch Rober’s creation in action in the full video below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5483076/nasa-engineer-glitter-bomb-package-thieves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5483076/nasa-engineer-glitter-bomb-package-thieves/"},"headline":"NASA Engineer Came Up With a Sparkly Way to Thwart Package Thieves","datePublished":"2018-12-18T19:08:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:56:31.210Z","description":"Surprise!","url":"https://time.com/5483076/nasa-engineer-glitter-bomb-package-thieves/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda7f491d588a76d1/698941cfdb298749a92617c1/glitter-bomb-package-thief.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda7f491d588a76d1/698941cfdb298749a92617c1/glitter-bomb-package-thief.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 Happy New Year background Multicoloured glitter","caption":"2018 Happy New Year background Multicoloured glitter","creditText":"mikroman6—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5483076/nasa-engineer-glitter-bomb-package-thieves/","name":"NASA Engineer Came Up With a Sparkly Way to Thwart Package Thieves"}}]}] ```