The rapidly spinning blades of drones on Mars can cause electrical currents in the atmosphere, resulting in a bluish glow at dusk. This conclusion was made by scientists at the Goddard Space Center (USA) in an article published in the journal Planetary Science Journal.

In their opinion, on Earth, these phenomena are observed more often on airplanes and at the ends of helicopter blades, especially in dusty conditions, and are called St. Elmo's lights.

“Weak glow will be better observed in the evening hours when the sky is darker,” explained William Farrell, author of the study. NASA's Ingenuity Experimental Helicopter is not flying at this time, but future drones will be able to fly in the evenings."

Scientists calculated that as the drone blades rotate, they hit dust particles in the atmosphere, especially near the surface of the planet, as a result of which a charge accumulates on the blades due to the triboelectric effect, and electric currents arise around them, causing a glow. In the future, these phenomena will help scientists explore various properties of the rarefied atmosphere of Mars.

Earlier, NASA scientists said that looking at the success of the Ingenuity helicopter, they intend to send more advanced drones to the planet in the future, capable of flying tens of kilometers, drilling and delivering soil samples on Mars.

bbabo.Net