Mars Closest To Earth in 50,000 Years

August of 2003 is a special time for scientists and amateur astronomers. Our red neighbor, Mars will move closer than it’s been in 50,000 years. On August 27, 2003, the “red planet” will be less than 55.76 million kilometers (34.65 million miles) away from the Earth. That sounds like a huge distance, but in stellar terms, that’s a stone’s throw. Just six months ago, Mars was about five times that distance.