Mars Sparks Detected: MAVEN Discovers First Martian Lightning Whistler
NASA’s MAVEN orbiter has captured the first confirmed electrical signal consistent with lightning in Mars’ atmosphere—a low-frequency ‘lightning whistler’ likely produced inside dust storms. The discovery confirms Martian atmospheric electricity, though the discharges are weaker than Earth’s, and researchers will continue searching for clusters to map where such events occur and how they influence Martian chemistry.