Recovering Apollo 8

In this world, Apollo 8 never returned to Earth. Astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders veered into an orbit around the Sun. But the doomed astronauts pleaded through radio that their sacrifice shouldn't be in vain. So, the space mission continued and twenty years later, the US has a base on the Moon and sent probes to Mars and Venus.

Richard Johansenn was eight years old when the Apollo 8 tragedy happened. He dedicated his life to recovering the capsule and the bodies of the astronauts. Now, forty years later, he has built a billion-dollar company and spaceships capable of returning the capsule home.

This novella has great world-building. Richard insists on being on the ship when they attempt to capture Apollo 8, so it has great details about working in space. It's a quiet tale about obsession but also of hope.