Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’

NASA's Perseverance rover has detected the first electrical discharges in Mars' atmosphere, capturing the crackling sounds of "mini-lightning" created when dust grains collide during windstorms. These small electrical zaps, comparable to static shock from a doorknob, could potentially threaten future astronauts' equipment and destroy organic molecules that scientists hope to find as evidence of past Martian life.