There was once the desire to send humans to space.

Only 2 years after Sputnik, the first astronauts were selected (the astronauts earlier than the cosmonauts).
The first cosmonaut became an instant celebrity and sort of a god.
The first american in orbit also became a celebrity; because he had a leader spirit, could talk very well, he was introduced into politics, became a senator and much later was involved in scandals. But he managed to get another seat for space and returned back into the dark space! He's adulated and hated in his own country.

A bit after his first flight, another american got selected.

He wasn't the kind to talk much, but he was working a lot to become a test pilot then to become an astronaut. His private life was mostly meant for the goal of being the best one. Once an astronaut, he demonstrated his flying skills and one day, learned he was going to command the fith Apollo mission which little by little turned out to become the first one to land on another world. Since the moment he joined NASA, he was taken in charge, was required to appear in public to inform about what astronauts are doing. This left very little time for privacy. Then came the time for the ultimate flight and it left him even less time for anything else but the Moon; the press was after him and his crewmates. Then came the flight....8 days of his existence, for which he had trained during 9 years!

After the flight, he had to go to parties, shake hands with millions of people around the world, an enormous pressure as his President and NASA asked him to either represent the country or NASA.He was even adulated in the Soviet Union, where they genuinly appreciated him and he learned the Russian language and made lots of friends. He felt he was more appreciated outside of the US. After 2 years of representing the space program, he got fed up, found a job as a professor at the University of Cincinnati. However, the students knew perfectly well who he was and never missed an opportunity to go after him. During dinners, scores of people would approach him, touch his back, ask for an autograph, ask questions (always the same ones, of course) and after 10 years, he left that job as well.

When you're the fist explorer of a new world, you're a living legend and whaterver you do, wherever you go, that fact will never escape those around you.

Is that what astronauts are? Living legends or aren't they supposed to be human beings ? Is that why there is a lure for Mars? What will happen to the first who steps on Mars?
Will he have a life after, even if he survives the trip?

It looks like either you're so famous your life doesn't belong to you anymore or you're left alone, forgotten, even though your trip, while not having been the first of its kind, was very interesting but maybe not to the general public! Too much....or too little.
And as time passes, those who actually stepped on the Moon, become more and more of a rare species! Luckily, neither the first nor the last one to step on the Moon, went to politics.

But it's really strange how quickly and definitely fame can catch you or loose you.

Robots won't know those shifting moods, those adulations; they're just robots.

Raoul