Perseverance rover records centimeter-scale electrical discharges on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded audio evidence of small electrical discharges in Mars’s atmosphere, scientists reported in a paper published in the journal Nature.

The researchers said the sparks were not Earth-like cloud-to-ground bolts but centimeter-scale short circuits, described by Baptiste Chide of the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetary Science in Toulouse as "mini-lightning on Mars." The paper said the phenomenon resembled a small static shock rather than dramatic lightning.

The discovery was made by a microphone on Perseverance that captured a two-part sound: radio emissions picked up with the microphone acting as an antenna, followed milliseconds later by a pop of mini-thunder. The team ran simulations matching the waveform, and calculated one mini-discharge occurred about six feet from the rover, with smaller zaps detected within a few inches.

Scientists said the findings could affect understanding of chemical reactions in the Martian atmosphere and that the tiny shocks "won't kill you," though over time they could disrupt electronics and spacesuits. Previous searches produced ambiguous results — a 2009 study of microwave emissions from Earth-based observations was controversial and an orbital measurement failed to confirm it — and some researchers called the Perseverance audio the most direct observational evidence so far.

Key Topics

Science, Perseverance Rover, Mars, Dust Devil, Electrical Discharges, Baptiste Chide