Mars Shines Bright During Major Solar Storm: NASA Reports

The recent solar storm on May 20th unleashed an intense X12 solar flare, followed by a coronal mass ejection that hurled charged particles towards Mars. NASA’s robotic explorers on the Red Planet provided valuable insights into the effects of this powerful event.

If astronauts had been standing near the Curiosity rover during this storm, they would have received a radiation dose equivalent to 30 chest X-rays, according to data from Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD). While not immediately life-threatening, this exposure highlights the need for shielding on future human missions to Mars.

“Cliffsides or lava tubes would provide additional shielding for an astronaut from such an event. In Mars orbit or deep space, the dose rate would be significantly more,” said Don Hassler, RAD’s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute.

The storm’s intensity was so high that Curiosity’s navigation cameras captured “snow” – white streaks and specks caused by charged particles hitting the cameras. Meanwhile, the star camera on NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter was temporarily overburdened by the influx of solar particles, briefly losing its ability to orient itself.

Hassler added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this active region on the Sun continues to erupt, meaning even more solar storms at both Earth and Mars over the coming weeks.”

These observations provide crucial data for scientists planning future human exploration of Mars, helping them understand the potential radiation exposure astronauts might face and develop mitigation strategies accordingly.

While the solar storm bombarded the Martian surface with energetic particles, it also sparked another fascinating phenomenon: Martian auroras. Unlike Earth’s auroras, which are concentrated near the poles due to our planet’s magnetic field, Mars’ auroras can engulf the entire planet due to its lack of a global magnetic field.

NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter captured these glowing auroras high above Curiosity’s location. On Mars, charged particles from the Sun interact directly with the planet’s atmosphere, causing it to glow in a way that surrounds the entire planet.

Christina Lee, MAVEN’s Space Weather Lead from the University of California, Berkeley, said, “This was the largest solar energetic particle event that MAVEN has ever seen. There have been several solar events in past weeks, so we were seeing wave after wave of particles hitting Mars.”

MAVEN’s Solar Energetic Particle instrument allowed scientists to reconstruct a minute-by-minute timeline of how the event unfolded, meticulously analyzing the progression of charged particles as they reached Mars.

These observations not only shed light on the unique dynamics of Martian auroras but also provide valuable data for understanding the potential risks and impacts of such solar storms on future human exploration missions to the Red Planet. By studying the behavior of these energetic particles, scientists can develop better strategies to protect astronauts and equipment from the hazards of space weather.