Even if you can't get all the way there yourself (just yet) it's worth observing Mars with your own eyes. As one of the five planets visible with the naked eye, Mars appears as an amber-reddish dot in the sky. Some call the color "coppery" or "butterscotch."

It varies greatly in brightness due to its changing distance from Earth. As astronomers have known for centuries, the best time to view Mars is at opposition, that's when it is closest to us and at its largest and brightest. During this viewing window (every two years for two to four months) you can observe some details—ice caps and dark markings—with good binoculars.

The brightness at opposition varies a lot because of the eccentricity of the orbit of Mars. August 2003 was a spectacular opposition—the best in at least 60,000 years.