This reminds me of the great first novel of Russian author Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra. The protagonist joins the Soviet space program (fully automated moon explora

This reminds me of the great first novel of Russian author Victor Pelevin, Omon Ra. The protagonist joins the Soviet space program (fully automated moon exploration!) and [spoilers ahead] learns that the full automation is physical labor by cosmonauts at every stage of the process. No spoilers about the end, it's even better.