Miniature lighting bolts have been discovered on Mars by Nasa’s Perseverance rover during its travels on the Red Planet.
French researchers made the unexpected breakthrough while analysing audio recorded from Mars' desolate surface.
Eyebrows were raised after crackling noises was heard during dust storms and whirling dust devils were detected.
These electrical discharges represent the first direct evidence of lightning-like activity on Mars, a phenomenon that scientists have sought to confirm for five decades.
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The research team, led by Baptiste Chide from the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology in Toulouse, analysed 28 hours of audio data from the rover.
His team identified 55 occurrences of what they termed "mini lightning" spanning two Martian years.
These electrical arcs measured mere centimetres in length and occurred within six feet of the rover's microphone, which sits atop Perseverance's mast.
Each brief discharge produced distinctive acoustic patterns, a combination of radio emissions followed by shock waves that created audible pops on the windiest Martian days.
Nasa’s Perseverance rover has discovered miniature lighting on Mars
|REUTERS
"It opens a completely new field of investigation for Mars science," Mr Chide said, citing the possible chemical effects from electrical discharges.
He marvelled: "It's like finding a missing piece of the puzzle!"
The phenomenon resembles lightning on Earth but would be barely visible to the naked eye, producing numerous faint electrical snaps.
Mr Chide explained that Mars's thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere muffles much of the sound, rendering some discharges almost inaudible.
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The discovery was made by French researchers analysing audio recorded by Perseverance
|REUTERS
The Martian atmosphere proves more susceptible to electrical sparking than Earth's due to friction between dust and sand particles.
Scientists previously discovered lightning on Jupiter and Saturn, with Mars long suspected of harbouring similar electrical activity.
The discovery also poses new challenges for manned missions to Mars.
Cardiff University’s Daniel Mitchard, who also contributed to the study, explained that explorers would be safe, but the same could not be said for equipment.
"The current evidence suggests it is extremely unlikely that the first person to walk on Mars could, as they plant a flag on the surface, be struck down by a bolt of lightning,” he said.
However, Mr Micthard cautioned that "small and frequent static-like discharges could prove problematic for sensitive equipment."
The devastating effect of these discharges was seen during the Soviet Mars 3 mission in 1971, which ceased transmission after just 20 seconds during a dust storm.
Engineers designing future spacecraft and equipment for Mars must now account for these newly confirmed electrical hazards.
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