The Astronaut is a 1972 American made-for-television science fiction film directed by Robert Michael Lewis and starring Jackie Cooper and Monte Markham.
Television coverage of Brice Randolph, the first astronaut on the surface of Mars, is interrupted, indicating that the signal has been lost.
Shortly afterward, Eddie Reese is recruited and shown what happened after the TV signal was interrupted: Brice reported something penetrating his EVA suit and soon expired.
Upon the arrival of the spacecraft back on Earth, the splashdown site is altered so that the press is unaware of Reese being brought to join the returning space crew.
Reese, maintaining the cover, is now tasked with playing his role with the dead man's wife, Gail.