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they're not truly close together in space. They only look close because Mars, Saturn and Spica are convening along the same line of sight. Spica lodges at some 260 light-years away, millions of times more distant than either Mars or Saturn.
• NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars Sunday night (August 5-6, 2012). You can learn more about the rover here.
• For the record, Mars, the fourth planet outward from the sun, presently resides at about 14 light-minutes away from Earth, whereas Saturn, the sixth planet outward, lies farther out at some 84 light-minutes. Incidentally, a light-minute equals nearly 18 million kilometers (11.2 million miles). Right now, Earth in its faster, smaller orbit around the sun is leaving Mars and Saturn farther behind each day, so these worlds are slowly but surely dimming in our evening sky.
• But while the time is at hand, be sure to watch the upcoming planetary drama. Day by day, the planet Mars comes closer and closer to passing right in between the planet Saturn and star Spica in the August 2012 evening sky.