![\"Detection](\"https:\/\/cdn.sci.news\/images\/enlarge13\/image_14387e-Mars-Lightning.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDetection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument on board NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicolas Sarter.<\/p>\n
In our Solar System, lightning and electrical activity occur on Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter.<\/p>\n
The existence of electrical activity on Mars has been theorized, but never directly demonstrated.<\/p>\n
The Martian dusty surface frequently hosts a range of localized and planet-wide events, including wind-blown dust and sand, dust storms, and dust devils, that are known to cause electrification on Earth.<\/p>\n
Understanding whether such electrification occurs on Mars is critical because it informs our understanding of the surface chemistry of the planet and could affect the safety of robotic and human missions.<\/p>\n
To answer this question, Universit\u00e9 de Toulouse researcher Baptiste Chide and colleagues analyzed 28 hours of recordings collected with Perseverance\u2019s SuperCam microphone over two Martian years.<\/p>\n
By identifying interference and acoustic signatures that are characteristic of lightning, the authors categorized 55 electrical events.<\/p>\n
They found that 54 of the events occurred within the top 30% of the strongest wind events recorded during the study period, indicating that wind plays a crucial role in initiating electrical charge on Mars.<\/p>\n
Sixteen events were also recorded during the rover\u2019s only two close encounters with dust devils, highlighting the possibility that more distant, or low-energy discharges, could have also taken place beyond the microphone\u2019s range.<\/p>\n
These observations suggest that Mars\u2019 atmosphere is electrically active, particularly during localized dust lifting rather than during globally dusty seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Earth, atmospheric electricity is dominated by the build-up of charge in clouds and storms and is violently discharged in the form of lightning,\u201d said Dr. Ricardo Hueso, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Mars, atmospheric electricity is dry and is produced by collisions between dust particles in whirlwinds and dust storms, resulting in much smaller discharges than on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith its thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide, Mars is a cold, dry dusty world, where the wind is sometimes very strong, blowing in gusts and creating whirlwinds and rising dust bubbles,\u201d added Dr. Agust\u00edn S\u00e1nchez-Lavega, also from the University of the Basque Country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can form fronts of giant storms hundreds of kilometers long, which sometimes cover the entire planet in dust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are expecting the hitherto elusive electrical discharges to be particularly numerous when these environmental conditions occur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study opens the door to numerous questions about the effects of natural electricity on the atmosphere of Mars,\u201d the authors concluded.<\/p>\n