How the CIA 'kidnapped' a Soviet moon probe during the space race

1967: A model of Lunik 1 on display in Moscow. It was the first spacecraft used by the Russians to strike the moon. It was launched on the 2nd January 1959 but missed the moon by 6000 kilometres, it did however become the first artificial satellite to achieve solar orbit.

The space race between the United States and the former Soviet Union was in full acceleration mode during late 1950, cascading into the1960s. That two-country contest put extra oomph into NASA's resolve to fulfill President John Kennedy's man-on-the-moon proclamation. 

Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were unmistakably edgy, a superpower rivalry fueled by differences in political ideology and economic pursuits, with both nations striving to influence the world by showcasing their technological and military prowess.