Over two years of data collected on Mars by the SuperCam microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover has led planetary scientists to identify 55 triboelectric discharge events linked to dust devils and dust storms.
Detection of electrical discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicholas Sarter.
Lightning and electrical phenomena have been observed on Earth, Saturn, and Jupiter within our solar system.
While the possibility of electrical activity on Mars has been hypothesized, it has never before been directly recorded.
The Martian surface, characterized by frequent dust activities and phenomena such as wind-driven dust, sandstorms, and dust devils, can lead to electrical charges similar to those seen on Earth.
Determining whether such electrification occurs on Mars is vital for understanding the planet’s surface chemistry and assessing the safety of future robotic and human exploration missions.
To investigate this, Baptiste Chide and colleagues from the University of Toulouse examined 28 hours of audio recordings from the Perseverance rover’s SuperCam microphone gathered over two years.
The researchers categorized 55 electrical events by detecting interference and acoustic signatures typical of lightning.
Notably, 54 of these events were linked to the strongest wind events recorded during the study, indicating that winds significantly contribute to Martian electrification.
In two encounters with dust devils alone, the spacecraft documented 16 events, suggesting the likelihood of additional, more distant discharges that may have escaped detection by the microphone.
These findings imply that the Martian atmosphere is particularly electrically active during localized dust activity, rather than during wider dusty seasons.
“On Earth, atmospheric electricity primarily results from charge accumulation in clouds and storms, which burst forth as lightning,” remarked Dr. Ricardo Hueso from the University of the Basque Country.
“Conversely, on Mars, atmospheric electricity is dry, generated through collisions between dust particles in whirlwinds and sandstorms, leading to much smaller electrical discharges compared to Earth.”
Dr. Agustín Sánchez Labega, also from the University of the Basque Country, noted: “Mars’ cold, dry, dusty environment features a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide and can generate very strong winds, creating gusts, whirlwinds, and dust clouds.”
“These phenomena can form extensive storm fronts that stretch hundreds of kilometers and sometimes envelop the entire planet in dust.”
“Thus, we anticipate these once-elusive discharges to be particularly prevalent under such conditions.”
The authors concluded, “Our study raises many questions regarding the impact of natural electricity on the Martian atmosphere.”
For more details, check their paper, published in the Journal on November 26, 2025, in Nature.
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B. Chide et al. 2025. Triboelectric discharges detected during Martian dust events. Nature 647, 865-869; doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09736-y
Source: www.sci.news
