There are many things in The Martian Chronicles that could easily be considered "possible";. In that same aspect, however, many of the happenings in The Martian Chronicles are indubitably fantasy, and could never occur in real life. Thus one must come to a conclusion, is The Martian Chronicles more science fiction or science fantasy. Obviously fiction, for our uses, is an event that did not really happen, but may be possible none the less. So which is it? Science fiction or science fantasy? We will discuss both aspects of The Martian Chronicles and determine the answer ourselves. We will also discuss whether science fiction and science fantasy are truly discernable from each other.

There are several occurrences in The Martian Chronicles that can be said to be fiction. One of these occurrences is in the story Rocket Summer when the rockets take off and the snow melts and...