Beware of buying things from the internet. You could be buying something that should not be sold in the first place, like the RL-10 rocket engine that is owned by NASA.

NASA's Office of Inspector General was reported to have confiscated the rocket engine that was put up for sale on an internet auction site. A collector who runs collectspace.com said the recovered engine has previously appeared on eBay in 2010.

The RL-10, which contains technology that could form the basis of missiles and spacecrafts, was similar to that which powered NASA's Saturn-1 rocket in the 1960s, the precursor to the larger Saturn V that brought astronauts to the moon, the report said.

The engine, worth about $200,000 was reportedly brought out of NASA without permission. According to the report, the person trying to sell the engine told investigators he bought it from someone who in turn got it from a NASA employee.

The incident highlights security concerns at the space agency. Rocket engines are supposed to be under particularly tight control at NASA.

According to sources, the US is keeping a tight watch on its rocket technology as it might fall in the hands of countries with which it has a tense relationship, such as China.