Mars in fiction from red-colored vegetation, and Schiaparelli observed what he took to be linear features on the face of Mars, which he thought might be water channels. Because the Italian for channels is "canali", English translations tended to render the word as "canals", implying artificial construction. Lowell's books on Mars expanded on this notion of Martian canals, and a standard model of Mars as a drying, cooling, dying world was established. It was frequently speculated that ancient Martian civilizations had constructed irrigation works that spanned the planet in an attempt at saving their dying world. This concept spawned a large number of
Space Exploration Alliance of establishing a permanent lunar base before follow-on efforts are made to move on to the planet Mars and beyond. The organizations involved in supporting the Space Exploration Alliance include: Collectively these groups total almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies. The first goal of the SEA was to work toward receiving broad Congressional support for the new national Vision for Space Exploration outside low Earth orbit, which the SEA refers to as "Moon, Mars and Beyond". The SEA began their effort by working together on a "Moon-Mars Blitz" campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington,