NASA’s Perseverance Rover Records Historic Aurora from the Surface of Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has achieved a remarkable milestone: it has recorded the first image of an aurora from Martian soil. Although scientists have been aware for more than two decades that auroras exist on the Red Planet, they had only been observed in ultraviolet light—which is invisible to the human eye—and exclusively from orbit. This is the first instance of such a spectacle being witnessed from the surface of Mars.

The photo, despite its grainy and pixelated quality, signifies an important scientific achievement. “The picture was taken with equipment that isn’t specifically designed for nighttime imaging, so it doesn’t resemble the stunning aurora photos we see from Earth,” said Elise Wright Knutsen, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the University of Oslo. “However, I hope people will enjoy the softly glowing green sky, even if the image is quite pixelated.” The research was released on May 14 in the journal Science Advances.

Auroras happen when charged particles from solar storms travel along a planet’s magnetic field lines and interact with atmospheric gases, causing them to emit light. On Earth, these occurrences—known as the Northern and Southern Lights—vary in color based on the type of gas and altitude. Oxygen can yield red or blue tones, while nitrogen may produce green, blue, or pink illumination.

Mars, on the other hand, possesses a distinctly different magnetic landscape. Unlike Earth’s extensive global magnetic field, Mars retains only fragments of magnetism embedded in its crust. Consequently, Martian auroras are more dispersed and varied. They can manifest in numerous ways, including localized discrete auroras, global diffuse auroras, proton auroras on the sun-facing side, and even large, serpentine auroras spanning the planet’s night side.

Perseverance, which is currently investigating the Jezero Crater—an ancient river delta—captured the aurora on March 18, 2024. This event followed a surge of solar energy that scientists had anticipated would impact Mars. Rob Lillis, a planetary scientist at UC Berkeley who was not part of the study, noted that the team had to act swiftly. “We actually advised the rover team to tilt their camera upward and see if they could observe an aurora,” he explained. “They received the instruction just in time to send the command to look up.”

The rover employed its Mastcam-Z camera and SuperCam laser instrument to capture the faint green illumination. Although the image quality was compromised, the detection implies that, under optimal conditions, future astronauts may be able to see Martian auroras with the naked eye.

Studying Martian auroras goes beyond mere visual fascination—it is crucial for future exploration efforts. Accurate models of Mars’ ionosphere, the charged segment of its atmosphere, are necessary for establishing dependable navigation and communication systems for crewed missions.

To delve deeper into these occurrences, NASA is developing the Escapade mission, which will deploy two orbiters to Mars to investigate how solar radiation influences the planet’s atmosphere. Constructed by Rocket Lab, these spacecraft aim to capture the first global images of Martian auroras in visible light. While the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter has already recorded auroras in ultraviolet light, Escapade may deliver a more thorough perspective.

For Knutsen, this discovery holds both professional and personal significance. As an avid space enthusiast, she once applied to the European Space Agency’s astronaut program. “I would give my left foot to have been there to see it myself,” she remarked. “But I hope one day I can retire beneath a softly glowing green Martian sky.”