Produced by: Tarun Mishra
An extreme solar storm that initially struck Earth also reached Mars, producing dazzling auroras and providing critical data on radiation hazards for future astronauts.
Credit: NASA
The storm began with an X12 class solar flare on May 20, one of the most powerful types, unleashing X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles towards Mars.
NASA's Curiosity rover recorded a significant radiation spike of 8,100 micrograys, equivalent to over 30 chest X-rays, the highest dose detected by its Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) since its landing in 2012.
The storm's charged particles were so intense they caused "snow" to appear in Curiosity's navigation cameras as energetic particles struck the sensors.
NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter's star tracker was temporarily blinded by the storm before recovering within an hour.
The MAVEN orbiter observed auroras engulfing the entire planet in ultraviolet light, a phenomenon possible due to Mars' lack of a global magnetic field.
The data from this event is crucial for planning future manned missions to Mars, highlighting the need for shelters and warning systems to protect astronauts from solar radiation.
Don Hassler of the Southwest Research Institute, principal investigator for RAD, emphasized the importance of this data in preparing for the highest radiation levels that astronauts might experience on Mars.
Christina Lee of UC Berkeley noted that this was the largest solar energetic particle event witnessed by MAVEN, and there could be more storms in the coming weeks as the active region continues to erupt.