The race to the Moon is in its final sprint. The Americans are about to launch Apollo 11. And the Soviets are attempting a last-minute coup (almost literally): they’re launching the Luna 15 automatic probe toward the Moon. The goal is to land on the Moon, collect a lunar soil sample, and return before Apollo 11 returns, thus outsmarting the Americans. On July 21st, contact will be lost with the Soviet probe, which likely crashed during its approach to the lunar surface.
