This June 13th, Wednesday, Mars will be closer to the Earth than it has been for two years - close enough for the planet's polar ice caps to be seen through a small telescope.

  Without a big telescope, you'll be able to see one of the polar ice caps and dark patches on the planet. Mars will be more visible, but still about 42 million miles away.

  Everyone take at least 15 minutes to go outside and view our closest neighboring planet, Mars - up close and personal this Wednesday. If you have a nice camera, it would be a great time for pictures!

  Mars will be bigger and brighter because it will appear lower in the sky than usual. Mars will appear quite low on the horizon in the southern sky, between the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius.

  Come August 2003 however (the month of my Birthday), Mars will be closer to the Earth than it has been in 6,000 years, being only 34.8 Million miles away. In August of 2003, the European Mars Express mission will also launch with the British Beagle II probe in it's payload, which will land on the planet to search for evidence of water and other signs of life.