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By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover.

The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on the rover, a French-led team reported Wednesday.

The researchers documented 55 instances of what they call “mini lightning” over two Martian years, primarily during dust storms and dust devils . Almost all occurred on the windiest Martian sols, or days, during dust storms and dust devils.

Just inches (centimeters) in size, the electrical arcs occurred within 6 feet (2 meters) of the microphone perched atop the rover’s tall mast, part of a system for examining Mart

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