Overview

• Researchers presented a second visible-light aurora seen from the Martian surface by NASA’s Perseverance, following the inaugural 2024 detection.
• The workflow prioritizes fast coronal mass ejections using upstream measurements from NASA’s MAVEN and ESA’s Mars Express to select observation windows.
• Eight targeted attempts in 2023–2024 yielded two detections on March 18 and May 18, with several fast-CME non-detections underscoring remaining variability.
• Operations require commanding the rover roughly three days in advance, while the detected glow matches the 557.7 nm oxygen line and could be visible to future astronauts.
• The team plans tighter timing comparisons between solar wind disturbances, energetic-particle arrival, and auroral response to refine forecasts and inform space-weather risk planning.