US EditionNASA Recorded Lightning Crackling on Mars for the First Time
Perseverance detected 55 electrical discharge events over two Martian years, mostly linked to dust devils and storms, revealing new insights into Mars’ atmospheric electrification.
- 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.
92 Articles
92 Articles
The phenomenon is caused by the rubbing of the smallest particles of dust.
Lightning on Mars? Scientists believe they have captured its sound on tape
Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by Nasa’s Perseverance rover. The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday. The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call “mini lightning” over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils. Almost all occurred on the windiest Mart…
The analysis of four years of acoustic recordings made by NASA's 'rover' has allowed scientists to identify 55 episodes with electrical activity, based on interferences and acoustic signatures characteristic of the rays Read
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