A recent explosion from the Sun sent a powerful burst of charged particles and radiation toward Mars, giving scientists a rare look at how these events play out on planets other than Earth.
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured the aftermath of a solar storm on the surface of Mars and recorded particles from the Sun raining down on the Red Planet using its navigation cameras. The Mars rover also measured the highest dose of radiation during its 12-year mission, providing a better insight into how long future astronauts will have to endure on the Martian surface. NASA. At the same time, the space agency’s MAVEN orbiter observed auroras on the far side of Mars, reflecting recent polar events on Earth.
Over the past month, The Sun has sent out a series of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CME) that traveled all the way to Mars. On May 20, NASA’s Solar Orbiter recorded a solar flare that was later classified as an X12 (solar flares range from class B, which is the weakest, to class X, the strongest). The massive solar flare sent X-rays and gamma rays toward the Red Planet, traveling at the speed of light, as well as charged particles that were ejected by the subsequent CME.
The Lunar-Mars Weather Analysis Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center tracked particles that arrived at Mars within tens of minutes and appeared as black-and-white streaks and spots on Curiosity’s view of the Martian landscape.
“Recently, my routine dust monitoring coincided with a major solar event that hit the Red Planet, and the charged particles hitting my camera caused distortion,” says the Curiosity rover. he wrote on X.
The rover’s Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD, was used to measure the amount of radiation reaching Mars and detected its largest wave yet. According to NASA, an astronaut standing on the surface of Mars would receive a radiation dose of 8,100 microgreys, the equivalent of 30 chest X-rays.
These dates are especially important as NASA plans to land astronauts on Mars in the 1930s. “Cliffs or lava tubes would provide additional protection to the astronaut from such an event,” Don Hassler, RAD principal investigator, said in a statement. “In Mars orbit or in deep space, the dose rate would be significantly higher.”
The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle of fluctuating activity, and we are currently approaching solar maximum of cycle 25. As a result, the Sun shows an increase in the number of sunspots, solar flares and CMEs. The country has taken its toll solar storm between May 10-12which led to power outages and radio outages, among other technologies and infrastructure. It also resulted in beautifully colored auroras across much of the world’s night sky.
During the last solar storm, the sky above the Red Planet saw its own set of auroras. NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter captured the glowing lights above the planet with its Solar Energetic Particle instrument.
“This was the largest solar energetic particle event that MAVEN has ever seen,” said Christina Lee, MAVEN’s space weather chief. “There have been several solar events in the past few weeks, so we’ve seen wave after wave of particles hitting Mars.”
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