At the turn of the 20th century, the "Mars Craze" reached a fever pitch, fueled by tales of intelligent canal-building Martians and the tantalizing possibly of contact between planets. Newspapers breathlessly reported on sightings and speculations, blurring the line between science and sensationalism.
Today, this fascination endures — only now it's bolstered by rovers, orbiters, and plans for possible colonization.
