By Will DunhamWASHINGTON (Reuters) -NASA’s Perseverance rover has obtained evidence that the atmosphere of Mars is electrically active, detecting electrical discharges – what one scientist called “mini-lightning” – often associated with whirlwinds called dust devils that regularly saunter over the planet’s surface.The six-wheeled rover, exploring Mars since 2021 at a locale called Jezero Crater in its northern hemisphere, picked up these electrical discharges in audio and electromagnetic recordings made by its SuperCam remote-sensing instrument, researchers said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt is the first documentation of electrical activity in the thin Martian atmosphere.”These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration,” said planetary scientist Baptiste Chide of the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in France, lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.”The electrical charges required for these discharges are likely to influence dust transport on Mars, a process fundamental to the planet’s climate and one that remains poorly understood. What’s more, these electrostatic discharges could pose a risk to the electronic equipment of current robotic missions – and even a hazard for astronauts who one day will explore the Red Planet,” Chide said.The researchers analyzed 28 hours of microphone recordings made by the rover over a span of two Martian years, detecting 55 electrical discharges, usually associated with dust devils and dust storm fronts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”We did not detect lightning by the common definition. It was a small spark, perhaps a few millimeters long, not really lightning. It sounded like a spark or whip-crack,” said planetary scientist and study co-author Ralph Lorenz of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.Sixteen of the electrical discharges were recorded during Perseverance’s two close encounters with dust devils.Another study published in October documented how dust devils ar …
