I recall that management was very adament during the Gemini missions that if an astronaut died on EVA his comrade was supposed to bring him home no matter what. Earth orbit is considerably different than the lunar surface I know. How exactly one astronaut was supposed to wrestle the other back into his seat was not clear. I just tried to extrapolate NASA's reaction to a death on the moon.
Moonlab; take two
- Thread starter The Kiat
- Start date
I recall that management was very adament during the Gemini missions that if an astronaut died on EVA his comrade was supposed to bring him home no matter what. Earth orbit is considerably different than the lunar surface I know. How exactly one astronaut was supposed to wrestle the other back into his seat was not clear. I just tried to extrapolate NASA's reaction to a death on the moon.
As before I missed this when it was running, and now you've published a final version. I went back over the earlier draft you did last year; I had plenty to say then that doesn't need re-saying.
But one thing I did not mention was a response to the "downer ending" of the death on the Moon.
I can't recall why not; I guess it depressed me too much.
But I can say this now; if you put Pete Conrad in charge of the last mission, I think you can bet his crewmate's will would be honored, NASA brass can go hang. Even if he were a much younger man and had a whole career as an astronaut ahead of him (instead of this mission being the obvious capstone and coda before a very honorable retirement) I think Conrad's character and will was such that he'd sacrifice it all to do the right thing.
Is burying the poor sap in Lunar regolith the right thing? Well, it was his last wish and why not, why should it matter where a person's bones lie to them? It's also far and away the most practical thing to do, as others have pointed out. The alternative is difficult and also very creepy.
I'm sure if Patterson had said the opposite in his will, or even not mentioned the contingency at all, his compatriots could and would have carried him back per NASA orders.
But having elected to be buried there, it seems equally clear he earned the right to it.
I don't know what NASA would try to do with Conrad after he defies them--beyond firing him of course. What can they do? Sue him?
Since the story of Moonlab ends on a dark note amidst a generally darkening horizon for America, I don't think it's too macabre to suggest that maybe, in a fit of bureaucratic frustration, some NASA brass--presumably this would have to be endorsed at the highest level in the organization so the director of the whole agency would have to be backing it--might go so far as to charge the remaining two astronauts with covering up negligent manslaughter or even some degree of deliberate murder, and try to use that charge as leverage to compel them to bring the body back to Earth for an autopsy.
But if it gets that ugly that fast--these decisions are going to be made in a matter of hours if not minutes--I bet the American and world public opinion is going to line up behind the astronauts and not their bosses. And the President, whoever he is, is going to have enough political savvy to do what it takes to damp this down fast, presumably by firing top NASA brass.
So, assuming the NASA managers are still somewhat sane persons, they will perhaps indulge in some bilious fantasy along these lines for one and a half seconds and then get a grip on themselves. No one is going to accuse Conrad and McDivitt of foul play--no one responsible anyway; the wackier tabloids might try to exploit the angle on and off again for years.
Whatever their bosses think, the public is probably on the whole going to accept burying Patterson on the Moon as the proper thing, and that his bones are a decorous tribute to the bravery of the astronauts and a humbling acknowledgement of our hubris. They become an irrevocable step in our venture into space, whether they are ever followed by more steps or not.
So when they get back to Earth I don't think there is anything terrible that can happen to Conrad; McDivitt might have more to lose but I think he'd be of the same mind as Conrad and covered by Conrad being in command; in the end the public will support them both.
Conrad being who he was though he'd do it even if he knew the opposite were the case.
Dulce et decorum est.
But one thing I did not mention was a response to the "downer ending" of the death on the Moon.
I can't recall why not; I guess it depressed me too much.
But I can say this now; if you put Pete Conrad in charge of the last mission, I think you can bet his crewmate's will would be honored, NASA brass can go hang. Even if he were a much younger man and had a whole career as an astronaut ahead of him (instead of this mission being the obvious capstone and coda before a very honorable retirement) I think Conrad's character and will was such that he'd sacrifice it all to do the right thing.
Is burying the poor sap in Lunar regolith the right thing? Well, it was his last wish and why not, why should it matter where a person's bones lie to them? It's also far and away the most practical thing to do, as others have pointed out. The alternative is difficult and also very creepy.
I'm sure if Patterson had said the opposite in his will, or even not mentioned the contingency at all, his compatriots could and would have carried him back per NASA orders. But having elected to be buried there, it seems equally clear he earned the right to it.
I don't know what NASA would try to do with Conrad after he defies them--beyond firing him of course. What can they do? Sue him?
Since the story of Moonlab ends on a dark note amidst a generally darkening horizon for America, I don't think it's too macabre to suggest that maybe, in a fit of bureaucratic frustration, some NASA brass--presumably this would have to be endorsed at the highest level in the organization so the director of the whole agency would have to be backing it--might go so far as to charge the remaining two astronauts with covering up negligent manslaughter or even some degree of deliberate murder, and try to use that charge as leverage to compel them to bring the body back to Earth for an autopsy.
But if it gets that ugly that fast--these decisions are going to be made in a matter of hours if not minutes--I bet the American and world public opinion is going to line up behind the astronauts and not their bosses. And the President, whoever he is, is going to have enough political savvy to do what it takes to damp this down fast, presumably by firing top NASA brass.
So, assuming the NASA managers are still somewhat sane persons, they will perhaps indulge in some bilious fantasy along these lines for one and a half seconds and then get a grip on themselves. No one is going to accuse Conrad and McDivitt of foul play--no one responsible anyway; the wackier tabloids might try to exploit the angle on and off again for years.
Whatever their bosses think, the public is probably on the whole going to accept burying Patterson on the Moon as the proper thing, and that his bones are a decorous tribute to the bravery of the astronauts and a humbling acknowledgement of our hubris. They become an irrevocable step in our venture into space, whether they are ever followed by more steps or not.
So when they get back to Earth I don't think there is anything terrible that can happen to Conrad; McDivitt might have more to lose but I think he'd be of the same mind as Conrad and covered by Conrad being in command; in the end the public will support them both.
Conrad being who he was though he'd do it even if he knew the opposite were the case.
Dulce et decorum est.