On October 19th 2014 a comet by the name of Siding Spring (C/2013A1) will be shooting very close to Mars, at a distance of 25,476 miles, the outer space equivalent of a planet’s driveway or how close Earth’s geosynchronous satellites are in relation to our own planet. And while the comet won’t actually hit Mars directly, it will cause some havoc with spacecraft currently on and orbiting Mars, as the tail of the comet will expel dust, ice, and formerly frozen gases as it cross the planet’s orbit. Take cover, little Curiosity!
[News via Planetary.org]