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NASA Recorded Lightning Crackling on Mars for the First Time
Perseverance detected 55 micro-lightning events linked to dust devils and storms, revealing new insights into Mars' atmospheric chemistry and risks to exploration equipment.
- On Wednesday, NASA's Perseverance rover recorded 55 electrical-discharge events over two Martian years, a finding led by Baptiste Chide's team using the SuperCam microphone published in Nature.
- Triboelectric charging from rubbing dust particles occurs as fast winds, dust devils and dust storms rub silicate dust particles together, while Mars's thin, carbon-dioxide atmosphere lowers the charge needed for sparks.
- By studying 28 hours of SuperCam audio the researchers identified electromagnetic 'blips', 8-millisecond ringdowns, tiny sonic-boom signatures, and validated these with a SuperCam replica and Wimshurst machine.
- Chide said the discovery has implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry and should guide designs protecting future robotic missions and human explorers from electrostatic discharges.
- Although presented as the first direct detection, researchers note the study faces debate due to previous 2009 microwave detection attempts and calls for future instruments and verification missions.
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117 Articles
117 Articles
The NASA Rover of Perseverance has obtained evidence that the Earth Earth's atmosphere is active from an electric point of view, after detecting electrical downloads – named by a “minimum” researcher – associated with so-called windsfields...
·Romania
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The Nasa robot recorded thunderstorms and characteristic signals of electrical discharges with its microphone on the Red Planet
·Vienna, Austria
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The phenomenon is caused by the rubbing of the smallest particles of dust.
NASA's Perseverance rover sent back evidence to Earth that the planet's atmosphere is electro-active.
·Belgrade, Serbia
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Total News Sources117
Leaning Left25Leaning Right11Center49Last UpdatedBias Distribution58% Center
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
58% Center
L 29%
C 58%
13%
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