The Cydonian region on Mars attracted a great deal of attention because one of the hills in that region looked remarkably man made. The region was first imaged in detail by the Viking 1 orbiter, which was launched in 1975. Several images were taken by the Viking, including one taken in 1976 showing that one of the Cydonian mesas had the appearance of face. Scientists dismissed the face as a trick of light and shadow, but then a second image also showed the face at a different sun-angle. This caught the attention of organizations interested in extraterrestrial intelligence, and some talk show hosts who believed the Face was a long-lost Martian civilization. Most scientists still held the belief that the face was just a consequence of viewing conditions. In 2003, when the European space agency launched Mars Express, it was able to combine data from a high resolution stereo camera and create a 3D representation of the “Face on Mars”. The most recent image (bottom) I think would silence even the most faithful believers. The image shows a remnant massif, thought to have formed from landslides and an early form of debris apron formation, but no face in sight.
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