Dozens of canals built by Mars

How are diseases born? What is in the center of the earth? What is fire? Throughout history, man has tried to explain the world to himself… and has often been wrong. Le Figaro It tells you about some of the trial and error that made science.

In July 1965, the first close-up images of Mars by NASA’s Mariner 4 probe definitively put an end to the decades-old controversy. Linear structures observed by many astronomers since the end of the 19th century^e The century, which was still represented on the maps NASA used to prepare the mission, was for some evidence of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Sadly, Mariner 4 reveals a desert world that looks as dead as the moon. No trace of channels. “The Mariner was ultimately unlucky and only picked up crater-ridden areas, without any interesting relief”notes Pierre Lagrange, sociologist of science, research associate …