(Space - Mars) Mariner Gets Clear View Of Mars...,

Mariner Gets Clear View Of Mars..., JPL - A.P.I., 1971

For a century or so prior, the consensus grown that Mars was inhabited. And many great minds posited methods to signal those in space that intelligent life could also be found on earth. The great mathematician Carl Gauss thought in 1820 that growing a massive right triangle and squares out of wheat and surrounded by pines could make a landmark that could be seen from space. The Viennese astronomer Joseph Johann von Littrow in early 19th century thought digging huge circular trenches in the Sahara desert, filling them kerosene and setting them ablaze at night would be effective to signal space observers. Nikola Tesla in the late 19th century was said to have recorded sounds emitted from Mars, and he too was sure that there was intelligent life. 
But by this time, Mars was understood to be uninhabited, and possibly as lifeless as Earth's moon.  This image from Mariner 9, the US probe that entered Mars orbit for 6 months and photographed the majority of the planet, showed a empty surface dry and scarred. 
This original photo was issued from JPL and prepared by API to run in newspapers as an update to the ongoing space race.
Condition is good though the paper is evenly browned with age. Image size is approximately  9.25 x 7 (inches)