Perseverance Records Electrical Sparks and Mini‑Sonic Booms from Martian Dust Devils — First Surface Audio Evidence

11:49 PM, 12/04/2025

Perseverance recorded the sounds of electrical sparks and small sonic booms linked to dust devils on Mars, marking the first surface audio evidence of such discharges. The dust devil was observed on Sept. 5, and the audio was captured in October 2024. These findings confirm prior theories that triboelectric charging among dust grains can produce electrical arcs and suggest Mars' atmosphere can become charged enough to trigger chemical reactions.

NASA Rover Captures Rare Electrical Activity on Mars

A NASA rover has, for the first time on Mars' surface, recorded the sounds of electrical sparks and small sonic booms produced by dust devils. The audio was captured by the Perseverance rover in October 2024 after the rover observed a dust devil on Sept. 5. These recordings provide direct confirmation of long‑standing scientific theories that swirling dust can become electrically charged and discharge.

What Scientists Hypothesized

Before Perseverance landed in February 2021, researchers proposed that friction among tiny dust grains carried in dust devils could build up electrical charge. This process — similar to the everyday triboelectric effect that causes a small shock when you touch a metal doorknob after walking on a carpet — may produce electrical arcs or discharges in the Martian atmosphere.

Why This Matters

NASA says the discovery is significant because it shows Mars' atmosphere can become sufficiently charged to drive chemical reactions. Electrically driven chemistry could affect surface chemistry, dust behavior and even considerations for future robotic or human missions. The sounds recorded by Perseverance — described as tiny sparks and mini‑sonic booms — give researchers a new way to study Martian weather and electrical processes in situ.

"Direct audio evidence of electrical discharges on Mars opens a new window into the planet's atmospheric and surface chemistry." — NASA analysis

The recordings are a reminder that even small‑scale phenomena on Mars can have outsized scientific importance. Continued monitoring by Perseverance will help scientists better understand how common these discharges are and what role they play in the Red Planet's environment.

Perseverance Records Electrical Sparks and Mini‑Sonic Booms from Martian Dust Devils — First Surface Audio Evidence

NASA Rover Captures Rare Electrical Activity on Mars

What Scientists Hypothesized

Why This Matters

Similar Articles

Perseverance Records First Electrical Discharges Inside Martian Dust Storms

Perseverance Detects 'Mini Lightning' on Mars — 55 Tiny Electrical Discharges Recorded

Perseverance Records 55 Instances of Tiny Lightning on Mars — ‘Mini’ Sparks Detected During Dust Storms

Perseverance May Have Found Its First Meteorite on Mars — 3‑ft Iron‑Nickel Rock 'Phippsaksla'

Perseverance Finds Shiny Iron–Nickel Rock on Mars — Possible Meteorite 'Phippsaksla'

Bleached Martian Rocks Point to Tropical-Clay Evidence — Mars May Have Once Been Rainy and Humid

Scientists Solve 50-Year Riddle: Seasonal Winds and Dust Explain ~2 Million Dark 'Slope Streaks' on Mars

Perseverance Will Photograph the Sun Daily from Mars, Offering a Rare View of Solar Activity

Perseverance Finds Metal‑Rich Boulder on Mars — Likely an Iron‑Nickel Meteorite

Curiosity Cracked a Martian Rock and Exposed Unexpected Native Sulfur

Mars Sample Return at Risk — Perseverance’s Cheyava Falls Sample May Never Reach Earth

Perseverance Spots ‘Sculpted’ 31‑inch Rock in Jezero — Could Be an Iron‑Nickel Meteorite

Could Mars Have Hosted Yellowstone‑Style Hot Springs?

New NASA Radar Deflates 7‑Year Martian 'Lake' Claim — Finds Rock, Not Water

NASA's Low-Cost Mars Mission: Twin Probes Take a Never-Before-Trialed Route

Colossal Water‑Carved Caves in Hebrus Valles May Hide Traces of Ancient Martian Life

Minneapolis Briefly Colder Than Mars: What the Temperatures Tell Us

How Time Ticks on Mars — NIST Finds Clocks Run 477 Microseconds Faster Than on Earth

Scientists Pin Down What Time It Is on Mars — and Why It Matters

Tiny Laser 'Spark' Could Illuminate How Lightning Begins

Trending