A Solar Superstorm Blasted Mars-and Its Atmosphere Freaked Out
Gizmodo • • general
Key Points:
- In May 2024, a massive solar storm originating from sunspot region AR3664 caused the largest geomagnetic storm on Earth in over two decades and also significantly impacted Mars’s atmosphere.
- ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter detected that the storm caused Mars’s lower ionosphere to expand to nearly three times its normal size due to an influx of charged particles and electrons.
- The solar storm temporarily disrupted the orbiters’ systems, but their radiation-resistant design allowed them to recover quickly and continue collecting valuable data.
- Researchers used radio occultation techniques to measure how the storm altered Mars’s ionosphere, revealing how solar plasma and X-rays stripped electrons from neutral atoms, increasing charged particle density.
