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So I had a question.

During his presidency, JFK suggested multiple times that NASA and the Soviet space program should work together on a manned mission to the moon.
While the reasons fall more in line with being able to shove some of the cost and most of blame on the USSR should the program fail, the idea was still there.

Anyway, at first the Soviets of course replied with a kind "Fuck You". But there were also reasons that Kennedy's offer would have looked pretty appealing to head communist Vladimir Khrushchev. The wall of silence between the superpowers was taking its toll on both economies. And since the Soviets were aware that most of their technology was more in the "glorified bottle rocket with a terrified person strapped on" category, they would have the most to gain. Which is why Khrushchev decided to reverse course and accept Kennedy's offer as part of an effort to scale back the craploads of money they were spending on the Cold War. He realized that it was going to be wildly unpopular with much of the Kremlin, but he also saw what Kennedy saw: a chance to completely change the tenor of the space race and the Cold War at large.

There's also the not insignificant detail that Kennedy was a charming motherfucker, and he and Krushchev had built up a trust. However, the very week he revealed the world-changing decision to his son, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Johnson made similar offers, but it just wasn't the same. Krushchev didn't trust Johnson to be his wing man on such an important decision. Kruschev's plan to go to the moon with Kennedy while sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, died with Kennedy, and the Cold War went on, business as usual.

So, basically, what would've happened?
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