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In the very distant past, water flowed on Mars – in
rivers, lakes and oceans. But the climate of Mars became colder and its once
abundant water froze. Eventually all over the planet, these ice deposits
evaporated from the surface into the dry and thinning atmosphere. Mars became a
vast cold desert.
But here and there - hidden underground – pockets of
ice still remained buried in frozen streams and caverns. The first settlements
on Mars were established in or near these ice caves because of its proximity. The
Ares Arcadia cave colony is an example. The early colonists mined ice and
melted the underground deposits collected there for drinking, hydroponic
gardens and fuel.
As time progressed, the colonies required other material
resources – often carbon, iron or silica. The geographic range of the settlements
expanded as outposts were built in the remote locations where such resources
were found. Since the atmosphere offered little protection from cosmic
radiation, the early outposts were often built underground, or sometimes simply
buried.
All these new outposts required a water supply. If
none was available at the outpost site – as was often the case – ice was
delivered to them from more established ice mining settlements. Initially human
driven vehicles transported the ice, and small farms or rest stations (called ‘ranches’)
sprung up along the wagon routes. Later the ice wagons were automated along
customary routes.
As the populations of outlying settlements grew, long
robotic ice wagon trains eventually traversed the Martian deserts between the
ice mines and the distant stations. These vehicles delivered ice between the
isolated outposts and also distributed other local resources for further
refinement or processing among the different settlements.
The discovery, mining, supply and
distribution of indigenous ice were crucial to the colonization of Mars.
Martian ice was a precious resource, a currency that became the cornerstone of
the frontier economy and socio-cultural activity. It is not surprising then
that the struggle for control of this key reserve became the dominant political
and martial focus of Martian society.
