NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears the Crack of Martian Lightning, Providing the First Glimpse into the Red Planet’s Atmospheric Electricity
The Martian atmosphere is electrically active, according to scientists, citing new French research that reveals evidence of electrical phenomena with significant implications for our understanding of the Red Planet’s atmospheric chemistry, climate, and habitability.
NASA‘s Perseverance rover has been scouting the Jezero crater for signs of life for the past four years. Unexpectedly, its instruments recently picked up something completely unexpected—“mini lighting”—as revealed in a new paper published in Nature.
SuperCam
“These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration,” lead author Dr Baptiste Chide told Reuters.
Just one day after landing on Mars, SuperCam’s microphone recorded audio from the Red Planet for the first time. The SuperCam instruments, responsible for some of Perseverance’s most interesting finds, inadvertently picked up the audio and electromagnetic signatures suggesting the presence of mini lightning on Mars.
Unfortunately, while the early data is promising, SuperCam was designed to look for life, not lightning. Despite the audio evidence, there is debate about the presence of Martian lightning due to the lack of visual evidence. Although SuperCam collected some evidence of unexpected atmospheric electricity on Mars, researchers say that more specialized instruments and sensitive cameras would help confirm the initial findings.
Discovering Lightning on Mars
The work is a collaboration between the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Université de Toulouse, and the Observatoire de Paris (PSL), working alongside other international researchers.
The French researchers behind the discovery combed through 28 hours of microphone recordings Perseverance made over 1,374 Earth days. Their results indicated that the electromagnetic and acoustic signatures were similar to minor static electrical events on Earth. Researchers have previously theorized that the Martian atmosphere may host such electrical activity, but this is the first direct evidence.
Martian Dust Devils
Violent surface activity, particularly dust devils and dust storm fronts, was strongly correlated with electrical activity. Dust devils are whirlwinds of swirling dust, produced as hot air rises off the Martian surface. The swirling internal movements of these dirt twisters produce electrical discharges as friction develops between tiny dust particles charged with electrons. Electrical arcs several centimeters long, along with an audible shockwave, result from these interactions.
On Earth, dry regions, such as deserts, are most prone to producing static electricity. Mars features even more optimal conditions for producing static electricity than even Earth’s driest regions, as the thin carbon dioxide atmosphere allows sparks to form through much weaker charges than on our planet.
Understanding Mars
The team’s findings may have a substantial impact on our understanding of Martian habitability. Specifically, discovering this extent of atmospheric electrical activity alters our understanding of the Red Planet’s chemistry.
The atmospheric charge is strong enough to speed up the formation of highly oxidizing compounds, which can destroy organic compounds and strongly alter the atmosphere’s photochemical balance. One immediate implication is that this may finally explain the long-debated rapid loss of methane from the Martian atmosphere.
Mars’ climate dynamics are poorly understood at present. The team suggests that static electricity may be affecting dust movement, which would significantly affect Martian weather. Electricity could also pose a threat to electronic equipment on which current robotic and future crewed missions rely. Further supplemental research, aided by specialized instrumentation, will be required to deepen our understanding of Martian climate dynamics and support safe and reliable crewed landings in the future.
The paper, “Detection of Triboelectric Discharges During Dust Events on Mars,” appeared in Nature on November 26, 2025.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
