In a breakthrough development, researchers believe that they recorded electrical activity in the Martian atmosphere for the first time, increasing the possibility that Mars is able to generate lightning.
The discovery comes from the company’s Perseverance rover that touched the ground in 2021 after four years of exploration from the Jezero Crater in search of signs of ancient life.
The rover’s SuperCam instrument picked up faint electrical discharges—described as “mini lightning” — via audio and electromagnetic data.
A French research team analysed 28 hours of microphone recordings collected over Martian years (1,374 Earth days) and discovered the discharges were usually associated with dust devils and storm fronts.
Dust devils are small whirlwinds formed by increasing hot air, and their turbulent motion can create electrical charge.
If the possible electrical activity in Mars gets confirmed, the planet will join Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter as planets known to have atmospheric electrical activity.
The crucial findings comes after another breakthrough discovery from September, when researchers discovered markings, nicknamed “leopard spots” and “poppy seeds,” containing minerals that may have been formed by ancient microbes and natural processes.
