The Martian Race by Gregory Benford Page B

video areas of interest to the crew or to scientists on Earth.
    Marc started the video. A large ruddy hill filled the screen.
    Julia shivered, remembering the biting cold that morning she and Marc had first seen the fog over the mounds. Suit heaters cranked to the max, they had looked like colorful, quilted penguins. Their pictures now graced the cover of the Lands’ End catalog, wearing the parkas and leggings now called Marswear©, of course. It was the latest rage in macho-type clothes, and the licensing fees helped pay for the mission.
    On that trip they'd used the big rover. As they'd prepared to leave it, she'd grabbed her tea cozy and worn it like a knit ski cap. That was only the first time she'd used it as extra insulation.
    Marc was talking. “You can see that it has an exposed side. So I decided to try drilling horizontally into that. Saved hauling the gear up on top.”
    He waved the remote and fast-forwarded the video, causing the two well-padded figures to waddle comically about as they positioned the gear and started drilling.
    The video slowed to normal speed and the faint, tinny grind of the laboring drill came through. “Right about here we were in about thirty meters, going pretty slow through some resistant stuff, salts maybe, then all of a sudden the drill started to cut real fast. Right … there. Raoul is monitoring the depth and he shouts to me that it's speeded up. I stopped it then so we wouldn't lose the tip. Now we're pulling it out, and you can see that the drill tip is smoking.”
    The camera came in for a close-up.
    “Uh-oh,” said Julia, automatically sympathetic.
    “That's what it looked like, anyway, but it wasn't hot, wasn't even warm.” He smiled, looking at Julia and Viktor slyly.
    “So how could it be smok—oh, wait, it was water vapor!” shouted Julia. “You found water!”
    Marc grinned. “Yep. The drill tip was really wet, and making cloud like mad.” Mars was so cold and dry that water on the surface never passed through a liquid stage, but sublimed directly from frozen to vapor. The team had concentrated their efforts to drill for water in places where early morning fogs hinted at subsurface moisture.
    On the screen the two suited figures were jumping about.
    “So are pingos after all.”
    “Sure seems that way.” Suddenly, Julia could see how pleased Marc was. She hadn't noticed much until now, so preoccupied was she with Viktor's accident and the vent.
    “How far in did you go?” asked Viktor.
    Marc turned off the video. “Just under ten meters. We went back in to confirm, of course. Got one hell of an ice core.” He grinned again.
    “What does Earth think?”
    “I hope they're thinking: one more step towards a colony,” said Julia.
    “Well, they asked for all the particulars we could squirt ‘em, that's for sure.”
    She was suddenly enthusiastic. “This is great news! Fresh water on our doorstep, practically.” She had a sudden thought.
    “It is fresh water, isn't it?”
    “Yep. I used it in the soup.”
    “What? Native water? Did you run it through the mass spec first? It could be full of toxic metals.”
    He laughed. “Relax. Just kidding. I left the analysis for you to do. And a chunk of ice.”
    “Wow. It's like suddenly discovering you live next to a lake.”
    “More like frozen lake.”
    “A frozen bumpy lake.”
    “Typical Mars.” This last from Raoul, who appeared from the galley with mugs of hot chocolate. “On Earth, you'd look for water in the low spots, stream channels. Here, it's backwards—water is in the hilly hummocks. An upside-down world.”
    His sardonic wit could sometimes cut through Julia's high moods, but not tonight. She was irrepressibly cheered by the discovery.
    “A toast to the first lake on Mars,” she said, “and to the discoverers.”
    They clicked mugs and drank.
    “Can tell why Julia is so happy: she thinks we're going to build hot tub in the greenhouse.”
    “Now that's an idea. But first, what does Earth