Exploration of Mars and Schiaparelli's canals episode
It could be asserted that Mars is currently the main target in planetary exploration. More than 40 missions have been sent to explore our neighbour planet since the early sixties (half of which have failed), and up to three more are scheduled for launch within the next two years, having turned Mars into the most explored celestial body besides Earth. Nevertheless, there were times when Mars was probably more popular among the general public than it is nowadays, and it was in a good measure because of the observations performed by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli during the 7 oppositions of Mars between 1877 and 1890. Here we review the history of the observations of the canali performed by Schiparelli and others, their controversial interpretations, and relate them with our current knowledge of the Mars environment provided by modern rover and satellites exploring Mars. SCHIAPARELLI'S CANALI: BETWEEN MYTH AND REALITY Gi