Scientists have discovered signs of mini-lightning on Mars, thanks to NASA’s Perseverance Rover. The rover, which landed on the red planet in 2021, recently recorded tiny electric discharges in Mars’ atmosphere. These sparks were found using its SuperCam instrument, which listens to sounds and picks up electromagnetic waves.
The sparks aren’t quite like Earth’s lightning. Instead of bright bolts in the sky, they are short crackles, only a few millimetres long. These were mostly heard during dust storms and when dust devils were swirling by.
The sparks happen when tiny grains of dust rub together, building up electric charges that then snap and release energy. This discovery is exciting for scientists because it helps them understand more about Mars’ weather, its atmosphere, and whether life could ever survive there.
This is the first time any electrical activity has been recorded on Mars. Until now, only Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn were known to have such activity in their atmospheres.
Alongside this, the rover has also been collecting sounds from Mars. It has made over 30 hours of recordings, capturing the wind, the rover’s own movements, and now the tiny Martian sparks.
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