Recently NASA has revealed a report, which states that a strong solar blast had hit Mars earlier this month and it caused a global aurora on the Red Planet. What is more surprising is that this aurora was 25 times brighter than any of the previously recorded ones.
As per the news release, the solar storm began on September 11 and spiked the radiation levels on the surface of Mars. The radiation level due to the storm had increased more than double the highest reading ever sensed by the Curiosity rover since its landing on the planet in 2012.
The solar event lasted for two days at a stretch and impacted the Earth as well, however, the effects were extremely minor.
As per Newsweek, close study of the Martian weather and these kinds of events are critical for us, the Earthlings, as we are planning to expand our civilization there.
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"To protect our astronauts on Mars in the future, we need to continue to provide this type of space weather monitoring there," Radiation Assessment Detector Principal Investigator Don Hassler stated in the news release. An event such as this, if occurs when the humans are present on Mars, would require them to run for shelter, he added.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX plans to send cargo-only spaceships to Mars by 2022 and conduct manned missions to Mars by 2024.
