NASA rover witnesses an aurora from the Martian surface for the first time.

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NASA's Perseverance rover has captured an aurora in the night sky for the first time from the Martian ground. Scientists have known for two decades that Mars' skies have auroras as well, but these curtains of undulating light had only been detected in ultraviolet light—an invisible spectrum to the naked eye—until now. All previous Martian auroras were observed from orbiters in space. The result is a grainy portrait, depicted further down in this story, reminiscent of the static one might recall on an old television when it lost a signal. This breakthrough represents a monumental achievement, said Elise Wright Knutsen, first author of the research from the University of Oslo, Norway. A paper detailing this unprecedented observation was published in the journal Science Advances on May 14. "The photo was taken with an instrument not specifically designed for nighttime imagery, so it isn't as spectacular as the aurora images we have from Earth," Knutsen noted. "But hopefully, people will appreciate the softly glowing green sky, even if the image is pixelated."

When the sun releases radiation during a solar storm, charged particles travel along a planet's invisible magnetic field lines. When these particles strike gases in the atmosphere, they heat up and glow. This results in colorful light displays known as auroras. On Earth, the colors vary based on atmospheric gas types and altitudes; for instance, oxygen glows red or blue, while nitrogen can produce green, blue, or pink hues. The recent strong solar storm conditions—stemming from the sun being at solar maximum—are causing auroras around the North Pole, known as the Northern Lights, to spread further south.

Mars' magnetic field differs from Earth’s, leading to unique auroras that aren't confined to the polar regions. Instead, Martian auroras can be found in various locations, existing in at least four forms: localized discrete auroras, global diffuse auroras, proton auroras on the sun-facing side, and a large wormlike aurora extending to the nightside. Some of these auroras form from the ground around remnants of the planet's ancient magnetic field.

Perseverance, which is exploring Jezero crater—where a river once emptied into a delta—spotted the aurora on March 18, 2024. The sun had sent a torrent of energy toward Mars, as noted by UC Berkeley's Rob Lillis, who is not an author on the new paper. 

Though the images captured by Perseverance, designed for other purposes, were not as glamorous as artist depictions, the detection itself was significant. "We advised the rover team to direct their camera upwards to check for an aurora, and they managed to send the command just in time to take a look," Lillis shared. Perseverance employed a special camera, known as Mastcam-Z, along with a laser tool called SuperCam, to observe the faint green haze. Although the glow was dim, this detection indicates that under better conditions, astronauts might one day witness such displays with their own eyes. 

This understanding is critical for future missions, as astronauts aiming to land and explore Mars will need navigation and communication systems effective in the planet's upper atmosphere. Enhanced models of Mars' ionosphere, the layer of charged particles enveloping the planet, will improve these technologies.

Scientists are actively exploring more ways to observe Martian auroras. A NASA-funded robotic mission named Escapade aims to study how solar radiation affects the Martian atmosphere. This mission will include two orbiters developed by Rocket Lab. While previous missions like the UAE's Hope orbiter have captured global images in ultraviolet light, the Escapade probes hope to provide the first global images of Martian auroras in visible light.

The rover's detection last year was a significant milestone and represents a culmination of numerous past attempts, according to Knutsen, who has aspirations of exploring space herself. "I would give anything to have witnessed it firsthand," she expressed. "But I hope one day to retire beneath a softly glowing green Martian sky."