ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

French Geodesic Mission

Hey, little buddy! Have you ever heard of a geodesic mission? Well, it's when some really smart people go out and measure the size, shape, and location of things on the Earth's surface to help us understand our planet better.

Now, a French geodesic mission was specifically when some scientists and adventurers from France went on a mission to measure things in different parts of the world, especially in places that were hard to reach. They did this all the way back in the 18th century, which means it was a really long time ago!

One important thing they did was to measure the shape of the Earth itself. They used something called a "meridian arc" to do this, which is basically a chain of precise measurements taken along a specific line on the Earth's surface. The French geodesic mission measured the meridian arc in several different countries, including Peru and what is now known as Ecuador. This helped them figure out that the Earth is not a perfect sphere, but actually bulges out a bit around the equator.

The French geodesic mission also did a lot of other important measurements, like figuring out the altitude of mountains and the distance between different cities. This information can be really helpful for all sorts of things, like building maps and figuring out how to set up communication networks.

So there you have it, kiddo! The French geodesic mission was a really cool adventure where smart people went out to measure things all around the world and help us understand our planet better.