Martian Lightning Detected for First Time
This image provided by NASA shows a selfie of their Perseverance Mars rover, on July 23, 2024. (NASA via AP, file)
Scientists may have captured the sound of lightning on Mars by listening to the whirling winds recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover. A French-led research team reported Wednesday that a microphone on the rover picked up crackling electrical discharges, which the scientists describe as “mini lightning.”
Over two Martian years, the team documented 55 instances of these tiny sparks, nearly all occurring on the windiest sols—Martian days—especially during dust storms and dust devils. The electrical arcs, just inches in size, appeared within six feet of the microphone, which sits atop the rover’s tall mast as part of a system used to study rocks with cameras and lasers.
The sparks, similar to static electricity on Earth, are audible through gusting winds and dust striking the microphone. “It opens a completely new field of investigation for Mars science,” said Baptiste Chide, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse. Chide emphasized that electrical activity could have important chemical effects on the Martian environment, calling it “like finding a missing piece of the puzzle.”
Experts caution, however, that the findings come from a single instrument not designed to detect lightning. Daniel Mitchard of Cardiff University, who was not involved in the study, noted in an accompanying Nature article that the discharges were heard but not seen. “It really is a chance discovery to hear something else going on nearby, and everything points to this being Martian lightning,” he said. Still, he added, new instruments will be needed to confirm the phenomenon, and some debate may remain among scientists.
Lightning is already known to occur on Jupiter and Saturn, and Mars has long been suspected of hosting it. Chide’s team analyzed 28 hours of Perseverance recordings, identifying episodes of mini lightning from acoustic and electric signals. Discharges caused by fast-moving dust devils lasted only seconds, while those linked to dust storms could persist for up to 30 minutes.
“It’s like a thunderstorm on Earth, but barely visible to the naked eye, with plenty of faint zaps,” Chide said. He noted that Mars’ thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere absorbs much of the sound, making some sparks difficult to detect.
Chide explained that Mars’ dusty environment makes electrical discharges more common than on Earth. Mitchard added that while the risk to future astronauts is low, “small and frequent static-like discharges could prove problematic for sensitive equipment.”
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