00:00 The CIA managed to kidnap a Soviet lunar probe during the space race.

01:23 During the space race, there were covert operations and espionage between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the Soviets achieving many space firsts in the late 1950s.

02:36 The Soviet Union launched Luna 1, the first probe to fly by the moon, in January 1959, followed by Luna 2, which was the first object to impact the moon, and Luna 3, which took the first photo of the dark side of the moon, while the United States was still behind in lunar exploration.

03:45 The CIA noticed that the Soviets had an actual working version of the Luna probe on display during an exhibition in Paris, and they planned to take a closer look at it when it was transported to Mexico City.

04:56 The CIA bribed a truck driver to ensure that the Luna probe was on his truck, and then switched drivers mid-distance before taking the original driver to a hotel and proceeding to a salvage yard.

05:59 The CIA successfully accessed and analyzed the contents of the Luna probe before reassembling it and returning it to the train station.

07:00 The CIA's operation to access and analyze the Luna probe gave the Americans a better understanding of the Soviet Union's launch capabilities and was more for military reasons than for NASA.