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Skating On Mars' Frozen Pools
Here's an amazing picture of a frozen pool of ice on Mars:
(Water ice on Mars)
As good science fiction fans (like Fred Kiesche of Bernal Alpha) know, Robert Heinlein described what human beings could do with icy canals on Mars [Updated 29-Jun-2025] in his 1949 juvenile novel Red Planet:
They were three or four miles east when they came to a ramp leading down to the ice. 'Shall we chance it?" asked Jim."Sure. Even if they send a man in on skates, I doubt if he would come this far with no tracks to lead him on. I'm tired of walking." They went down, put on their skates, and started. Most of the kinks from their uncomfortable night had been smoothed out by walking; it felt good to be on the ice again.Jim let Frank set the pace; despite his illness he stroked right into it and pushed the miles behind him...
SF readers with good memories recall that Heinlein also described using skis on the Moon in his 1939 story Requiem.
Via niume. Special thanks to Fred Kiesche for pointing this out.
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