US EditionNASA Recorded Lightning Crackling on Mars for the First Time
The Perseverance rover detected 55 mini electrical discharges over two Martian years, revealing new insights into Mars' dust-driven atmospheric chemistry and potential risks for future missions.
- 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.
167 Articles
167 Articles
Nasa rover makes major discovery as evidence of miniature lightning bolts on Mars uncovered
Miniature lighting bolts have been discovered on Mars by Nasa’s Perseverance rover during its travels on the Red Planet.French researchers made the unexpected breakthrough while analysing audio recorded from Mars' desolate surface. Eyebrows were raised after crackling noises was heard during dust storms and whirling dust devils were detected.These electrical discharges represent the first direct evidence of lightning-like activity on Mars, a phe…
The Perseverance rover detected possible "mini lightning" on Mars by capturing electrical discharges during storms and dust devils, a finding that opens new lines of research on the atmospheric activity of the red planet and its effects on future missions.
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