Michel in Antarctica is the first short story in The Martians. Told from the perspective of Michel Duval during the training for the Mars mission in Antarctica.
Plot Summary
Michel Duval is one of four psychologists sent to monitor 158 applicants for the Ares, currently training near McMurdo Station in Antarctica. He has fallen in love with most of the women there, mainly Tatiana Durova, Hiroko Ai, Ann Clayborne, Phyllis Boyle, Ursula Kohl, Rya Jimenez, Marina Tokareva, Sasha Yefremova and Maya Toitonva. The group simulates construction of a Martian colony and is hit hard by a winter, which only the Russians and extremely dedicated scientists survive completely unscathed. Michel actively analyses the applicants, keeping private notes on all of them.