The "face of Mars"

«It was built by a Martian civilization…»

After the Viking mission to Mars in 1976, everything seemed to indicate that the analysis of photographs would be a routine matter, simply an extensive scientific task of interest only to specific sectors, such as astronomers and planetary geologists. However, in one of these images, photographed on July 25, 1976, a curious rock formation with the appearance of a human face would be evident, which was quickly considered "irrefutable proof" of the existence of life on Mars, whose beings built this face as a clear message of their existence. Likewise, another series of nearby rock structures were interpreted as pyramids and remains of an ancient Martian city. Let's see the "heads and tails" of this story:

Pseudoscience says...

There is ample and indisputable evidence of a civilization on Mars. The formations seen in the Viking photos are the work of intelligent beings, the original inhabitants of the planet Mars. The "city" visible in the Cydonia photos is said to be made up of several pyramids, other structures similar to buildings and the "face", all of which appear to have been built and not merely the result of the natural forces that shape the surface of a planet.

Science says...

The Viking 1 and Viking 2 missions were twin probes sent to the planet Mars, consisting of an "orbiter" and a "lander" respectively. Viking 1 would orbit the red planet, while Viking 2 would descend to the surface and take a series of technical data. The mission was a success and valuable data on Martian topography and surface features were obtained, constituting the first mission of its kind. Among the images sent by Viking 1, one in particular is extremely curious because it shows a rock formation that looks like a human face. This formation is 1.5 km wide, and is illuminated by the sun's rays falling at an angle of 20º. It is located in a region of Mars called Cydonia, at 40.75° N and 350.54° E.