“The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal

[divisionsandprecisions]

Retired spaceman offered one last task that she won't return from. The essence is the same as Heinlein's "Green Hills of Earth" from 1947 (and untold thousands of stories before and after), though in this case the protagonist is a pilot and leaves behind a dying husband. Hitting heavily on the pathos of the decay of the sick elderly, crossing the line into rank attempted emotional manipulation. The entire story is predictable from the first page or so; it needs something unexpected, either to partially change the nature of the conflict or to bring it into sharper focus or to generalize it.

And what in the world kind of title is that? "Lady Astronaut" ??????