Want to see a cosmic magic trick?

Look to the sky early on Tuesday, and the crescent moon will make Mars disappear. Then about an hour later, the red planet will return, as if nothing ever happened.

This celestial event is known as a Moon-Mars occultation, and it occurs from some vantage point on Earth about twice a year, according to NASA. Skywatchers from much of North and Central America will have a front-row seat to Tuesday’s occultation, and those along part of the West Coast will have an especially good view, with a chance to watch the entire show before sunrise.

This pre-dawn meetup is a useful preview of how Mars will be central to space exploration this year.

Three robotic rover missions are expected to launch to the red planet this summer — one built by NASA, a second by China and a third produced by a European-Russian collaboration. The United Arab Emirates will also launch a Mars mission, an uncrewed orbiter called Hope.