Before Mariner 4

Before the first flyby of Mars in 1965, the observations of Giovanni Schiaparelli and Percival Lowell shaped how people viewed the planet. Schiaparelli observed what he thought was water canals on the surface of Mars. This caused people to frequently speculated that an ancient Martian civilization had constructed irrigation systems to save their dying world. But in July of 1965, these exotic theories were dispelled. Mariner 4 took some of the first close-up images of Mars' surface. These images depict a relatively inactive planet with no sign of any irrigation systems or water canals. The total cost of the Mariner 4 mission is about $83.2 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_4