Mars astronauts would be able to see colorful aurora lights during solar storms, scientists prove
Scientists used two NASA robotic missions –MAVEN and Perseverance -- and a well-timed coronal mass ejection to capture the first visible-light auroras seen from the surface of Mars.
One year since severe solar storm created global aurora lights show
On May 10, 2024, the world was treated to dazzling Northern lights displays that reached as far south as Florida during an extreme (G5) solar storm.
For the first time, scientists know what aurora light displays on Mars could look like for Martian explorers.
On Earth, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are created when energized particles from the Sun interact with our planet’s magnetic field. While Mars is also blasted with the same space weather, the Red Planet lacks a magnetic field, creating a different phenomenon known as solar energetic particle (SEP) auroras. These were first discovered by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft more than a decade ago.
SEPs happen when energized particles crash into the Martian atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to glow. However, until now, it hasn’t been documented if these lights appear in the colors we see on Earth. The most common color of auroras on Earth is green, caused by oxygen atoms emitting light at a wavelength of 557.7 nanometers. According to NASA, scientists theorized that green-light auroras could also occur on the Red Planet but might be fainter than on Earth.
During the strong to extreme solar storms last spring and summer, University of Oslo researcher Elise Knutsen waited for the perfect conditions to try and prove this theory.
First, Knutson’s team figured out how NASA’s Perseverance rover’s SuperCam spectrometer and Mastcam-Z camera would need to be angled to capture an SEP aurora in visible light. Then they just had to figure out the timing for when a coronal mass ejection from the Sun might trigger such a display. They needed a strong CME that would send a lot of charged particles into the Martian atmosphere.
Similar to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), which issues forecasts for space weather impacts on Earth, NASA has dedicated teams at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland tracking solar activity for possible impacts on NASA missions operating in space.
SEE THE IMPACTS AN EPIC SOLAR STORM HAD ON THE RED PLANET
The first visible-light image of a green aurora on Mars, left, taken by NASA’s Perseverance rover. A comparison image, right, shows the night sky without the aurora but featuring the Martian moon Deimos.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI / NASA)
On May 15, 2024, the Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office sent out an alert for a coronal mass ejection that could produce a solar storm on Mars. A few days later, the CME arrived at Mars, creating the auroras seen in the photos from Perseverance above. According to the research team, the lights were exactly at an emission wavelength of 557.7 nm, producing green aurora.
"This exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research and confirms that auroras could be visible to future astronauts on Mars’ surface," Knutsen said in a news release.
Perseverance's selfie with Ingenuity
(NASA)
Data from MAVEN and the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission also corroborated the SEP seen by the rover. The space agency said this multi-mission collaboration is a new way to study space weather on Mars.
NASA said it's likely that if astronauts had been on the surface of Mars near the rover, they would have been able to see the glowing green lights.