Amazing stuff! So far lightning was discovered only three bodies of the solar system!
"Lightning has been detected on Mars for the first time, confirming longstanding theories that the dusty and windy Martian atmosphere could see electrical charges transferred.
Finding lightning could reveal new insights into the habitability of Mars and potential risks to future missions.
The discovery was made through analysis of data from NASA’s Perseverance rover which landed on Mars in 2021 ...
The researchers compared 28 hours of audio data with electrical signals.
They found 55 electrical events which had acoustic signatures characteristic of lightning. Almost all of these coincided with high winds with only 1 occurring during winds outside the strongest 30% recorded during the study period.
Lightning has previously been spotted on 3 bodies in the solar system: Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. ..."
From the abstract:
"Lightning is among the most energetic manifestation of electrical activity in planetary atmospheres, with documented observations not only on Earth but also on Saturn and Jupiter.
On Mars, the existence of electrical activity has long been suspected, but never directly demonstrated. The dusty atmosphere of Mars undergoes aeolian processes, ranging from wind-blown dust and sand, metre-to-hundred-metre-sized dust devils to thousand-kilometre-scale dust storms, which, in Earth’s deserts, can become electrified through triboelectric charging. For this reason, electric fields have been predicted to build up on Mars, but with no measurement of Martian atmospheric electrical activity so far.
Here we report in situ detections of triboelectric discharges, identified by their electrical and acoustic signatures captured by the SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover.
Fifty-five events have been detected over two Martian years, usually associated with dust devils and dust storm convective fronts. These serendipitous observations demonstrate that Martian electric fields can reach the breakdown threshold of the near-surface atmosphere of Mars, predicted to be on the order of several tens of kV m−1.
Such electrical activity could affect dust dynamics and potentially fuel a reactive electrochemical environment enhancing the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, with consequences for the preservation of organic molecules. This in situ evidence may have implications for surface chemistry, habitability and human exploration."
Electric discharges detected on Mars for the first time (original news release) "Electric discharges have for the first time been recorded within the storms and whirlwinds of dust – known as dust devils – that sweep across the surface of Mars. Captured by the microphone of the SuperCam instrument on board NASA’s Perseverance rover, the signals were analysed by a team of scientists from the CNRS, Université de Toulouse and the Observatoire de Paris – PSL, working as part of an international team. The discharges represent a major discovery with immediate implications for our understanding of the atmospheric chemistry, climate and habitability of Mars, as well as for future robotic and manned missions there. These findings are published in the journal Nature on November 26, 2025."
Detection of triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars (no public access)
Detection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument, on board the Perseverance rover on Mars
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