NASA's Perseverance Rover Hears the Crack of Martian Lightning, Providing the First Glimpse into the Red Planet's Atmosp

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears the Crack of Martian Lightning, Providing the First Glimpse into the Red Planet’s Atmospheric Electricity

Ryan Whalen
·December 2, 2025



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.

“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.

More:
https://thedebrief.org/nasas-perseverance-rover-hears-the-crack-of-martian-lightning-providing-the-first-glimpse-into-the-red-planets-atmospheric-electricity/