"It is possible you've received an email which says that Mars closest to Earth in August in 50,000 years. Sorry, that was 2 years ago, you're reading a recycled email. This year's closest approach will be on October 31, 2005 and although it will be spectacular, it is not a record breaker."

story see link:

http://space.about.com/od/astronomynews/a/marsclose2005.htm