A History of Martian Ice

-->

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.