Mars in our Night Sky

Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft.

Mars Close Approach to Earth

See Mars in the Night Sky!

Simply go outside and look up and, depending on your local weather and lighting conditions, you should be able to see Mars.

Mars Close Approach: Dec. 1, 2022

That is the point in Mars' orbit when it comes closest to Earth – in 2022, it was about 50.6 million miles (81.5 million kilometers) from our planet.

Mars remains visible in the weeks following close approach, but becomes fainter as Mars and Earth travel farther away from each other in their orbits around the Sun.

This time of better Mars viewing opportunities can coincide with opposition, when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. This lineup happens about every two years. This is usually when Mars is at its brightest, so go out and take a look!

What is Mars Close Approach?

Close Approach is when Mars and Earth come nearest to each other in their orbits around the sun. Close is a relative term. The minimum distance from Earth to Mars is about 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers). However, that doesn't happen very often.

Illustration of the orbits of Mars and Earth around the sun during Close Approach.

If Earth and Mars had perfectly circular orbits, their minimum distance would always be the same. However, they have elliptical (egg-shaped) paths.

In addition, gravitational tugging by planets constantly changes the shape of their orbits a little bit. Giant Jupiter especially influences the orbit of Mars.

The orbits of Mars and Earth are also slightly tilted with respect to each other.

All these factors mean that not all close encounters are equal. In 2003, Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years! It won't be that close again until the year 2287.

When Mars and Earth are close to each other, Mars appears very bright in our sky. It is also easier to see with telescopes or the naked eye. The Red Planet comes close enough for exceptional viewing only once or twice every 15 or 17 years.

Close Approach: Mars Hoax

However, don't be fooled by the Mars Hoax! Since 2003, this urban legend has been circulated through email and social media every time Mars makes a close approach.

The false message of the urban legend is that Mars will look as big as the Moon in our night sky. If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our Moon!

When does Mars Close Approach Occur?

Though Earthlings will be able to get a good look at Mars during close approach, NASA's Curiosity rover and Insight lander on Mars will not be able to see Earth.

Mars Close Approach happens about every 26 months. It is closely related to Mars Opposition and Mars Retrograde.

Since Mars and Earth are at their closest, it's generally the best time to go to Mars. Many Mars missions have taken advantage of the close distance to visit the Red Planet. That's why, depending on budgets, you'll often see that Mars missions launch about every two years:

2001	Mars Odyssey
2003	Mars Exploration Rovers
2005	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
2007	Mars Phoenix Lander
2009	(skipped opportunity)
2011	Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Rover
2013	MAVEN
2016	(skipped opportunity)
2018	InSight
2020	Mars 2020

Archived Content 2003 and 2005 ›

Mars Close Approach Opportunities

Missed seeing the latest Mars Close Approach? Keep an eye out for the Red Planet at some of these upcoming opportunities:

Date	Time (UTC)	Earth-Mars Distance
Date	Time (UTC)	miles	km
Jan. 12, 2025	13:37:09	59,703,892	96,084,100
Feb. 20, 2027	00:12:53	63,016,511	101,415,244
March 29, 2029	12:55:12	60,163,089	96,823,106