Summary
- The Goldilocks asteroid houses the Kuznetsov Station, which is the mining base for iridium and other minerals.
- The station is named after cosmonaut Grigory Kuznetsov, who was killed during the first asteroid capture mission.
Fans have many questions about the name and purpose of the Kuznetsov Station in the latest season of ‘For All Mankind.’
The Apple TV+ series is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union wins the space race and lands on the Moon ahead of the United States. Therefore, NASA’s morale is greatly hit when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov becomes the first person to land on the Moon’s surface. The series perfectly portrays the soap-operaesque space race and makes it a first-hand experience for viewers.
In order to make the show’s imagined space exploration trope believable, each season takes ten years after the previous one, with the current season set in the 2000s.
We see that Mars’s development has grown considerably in the season opener. This prompts Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) to move an asteroid into Mars’ orbit for mining purposes.
That operation fails, but another resource-filled asteroid called Goldilocks leaves Jupiter’s orbit and approaches Mars. Therefore, Goldilocks becomes the main focus of this season.
In season 4, episode 5, the Mars crew is hell-bent on capturing Goldilocks because of its mineral-rich surface, which contains precious iridium. Baldwin and his team realize that it will be the perfect replacement for the asteroid that they couldn’t relocate to Mars’ orbit.
However, there’s a catch: U.S. President Al Gore says the asteroid belongs to America, sparking a political conflict. Despite the political tussle and tight schedule, Baldwin’s team prepares to pull Goldilocks toward them.
‘For All Mankind’ does not disappoint with its season-four finale, as it jumps ten years into the future to 2012.
We see Dev gazing at Goldilocks from the edge of the Korolev Crater, where a colossal mining project is underway. The operation is named after the soviet cosmonaut Grigory Kuznetsov (Lev Gorn), who died during the first-ever capture mission.
Season 4’s ending reveals that the Kuznetsov Station is a mining base on Goldilocks. After much struggle, Dev and his team finally capture Goldilocks and pull it toward the Martian orbit to increase Mars’ viability as a colony.
In a flash forward, we finally see the Kuznetsov Station, established as a massive iridium-mining project on the surface of Goldilocks.
Finally, there is a montage of questions that ‘For All Mankind’ season 5 needs to answer. For starters, we still don’t know who actually runs the Kuznetsov station. There’s still a lot of tension between the M-7 countries after the violence involving the Helios workers in the season 4 finale. Will they approach the treatment of workers any differently in the aftermath of the debacle? How will it affect the interim management of the project?
Moreover, the consequences of the sprawling Kuznetsov station stretch beyond Mars.
Goldilock’s massive iridium-filled surface was supposed to provide jobs to millions of Earthlings and transform into a trillion-dollar industry. However, things have changed drastically now that the asteroid is on the Martian surface.
In ‘For All Mankind’ season 3, the Moon’s Helium-3 refineries snatched away the jobs of thousands on Earth, and Goldilocks’ Kuznetsov station might have similar ramifications in the next season.
What do you think about the Kuznetsov Station? Do you think it’s unfair to the Earthlings? Comment your thoughts below!
About For All Mankind
For All Mankind is an American sci-fi drama TV series created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi for Apple TV+.
The series follows an alternate timeline where NASA is not the one to accomplish the first moon landing, and they train women astronauts to outdo the Soviet Union in the never-ending space race.
Cast members include Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, and Jodi Balfour, among many others.
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