Overview
- The peer-reviewed Nature study reports 55 electrical-discharge events captured by Perseverance’s SuperCam microphone as audio and electromagnetic interference over 28 hours of recordings spanning two Martian years.
- Most detections occurred during the strongest winds and were linked to dust devils and advancing dust-storm fronts, including 16 events during two dust-devil encounters near the rover in Jezero Crater.
- Laboratory experiments using a ground-based replica of SuperCam reproduced the same interference and acoustic signatures, strengthening the interpretation of triboelectric discharges.
- The signals indicate centimeter-scale arcs with very small energies—typically 0.1 to 150 nanojoules, with one event around 40 millijoules—distinct from the powerful lightning seen on Earth.
- Scientists say the electrical activity could generate oxidants that degrade organics and stress hardware, and they call for dedicated electric-field instruments to verify frequency, distribution, and impacts given the current reliance on a single non-visual sensor.