NASA rover records first evidence of lightning on Mars

American space agency NASA's rover has recorded evidence of lightning on Mars for the first time, its microphone picking up the sounds of tiny “zaps” whipped up by the dust storms constantly sweeping across the planet.

- 

Scientists have long debated whether electrical discharges could be sparking in the dusty and little-known Martian climate — but proof has been hard to come by.

It turns out that NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has been roaming the red planet since 2021, was inadvertently recording the sounds of lightning, according to a study published in Nature this week.

These are far from the thundering, kilometre-long lightning bolts we see on Earth.

Instead, they are “little zaps” similar to “what you might feel in dry weather when you touch your car door and there’s a bit of static electricity”, lead author Baptiste Chide of France's CNRS research centre told AFP.

While low in energy, these discharges are happening “absolutely all the time - and everywhere” on Mars, the planetary scientist said.