Read a Sci-fi novel once, can’t remember the author, since I read so many, where the first manned Mars mission turned into a rescue mission of an alien that was trapped on one of Mars moons. The alien was part of a duo that had been stationed on the moon and was supposed to protect Earth from incoming comets and asteroids. The elder of the two aliens died and the younger one didn’t know what to do, so he sent out telepathic messages to people on Earth and the space craft to come and get him. The Earth people thought they were going nuts....................
That’s very close to Kurt Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan. Either that’s it, or the author of your book was ripping him off.
If you find the title/author, please ping me. Would love to read it. Thanks!