When the wind blows on Mars, electricity crackles through the air.
For the first time, scientists have detected electricity in the Red Planet’s atmosphere. A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover captured the sounds and electrical interference of dozens of electrical discharges generated by colliding dust grains, researchers report November 26 in Nature.
The jolts are relatively small, packing a punch that’s akin to the shock from touching a doorknob on a dry, winter day. Nonetheless, they could pose a hazard for future astronauts and electronics and hamper the search for Martian life, if it ever existed, the researchers warn.
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