News
Martian auroras offer clues to how the red planet lost its water
Aurorae are a dazzling light spectacle often visible at high-latitude locations here on Earth. They’re colorful and mesmerizing, but most of all, they’re mysterious.
A new study has found that this same phenomenon also happens on Mars. In research presented last week at the American Geophysical Union’s annual Fall meeting, scientists revealed that the most common form of Martian aurorae is called the proton aurora.
Just like the auroras we see here on Earth, proton aurorae are formed when the solar wind—a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun—interacts with the atmosphere. That interaction often manifests itself as a mesmerizing swirl of colored lights in the night sky.
On Mars, however, the auroras appear during the daytime and onlookers would need special ultraviolet glasses to see them. That’s because they’re invisible to the naked eye, but can be spotted with special UV instruments.
These auroras aren’t just a future Martian tourist attraction, they have a scientific value. We could better understand how Mars is losing water to space and more about how the planet’s climate is changing.
Proton auroras were first discovered in 2016 by NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. MAVEN is investigating how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere and water, ultimately transforming its climate from one that may have supported life to one that is inhospitable.
The observed aurora can help researchers track the amount of water lost since the auroras are related to water loss.
“In this new study using MAVEN/IUVS data from multiple Mars years, the team has found that periods of increased atmospheric escape correspond with increases in proton aurora occurrence and intensity,” Andréa Hughes of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida said in a news release.
Auroras on both planets start with the same source: the solar wind. On Earth, they appear when the solar wind slams into our planet’s magnetic field. High-energy collisions occur as the charged solar particles interact with particles of atmospheric gas. Each type of particle produces a different colored light in the sky.
Martian auroras start in much the same way, charged particles from the solar wind collide with a cloud of hydrogen that surrounds the red planet. When this happens, protons in the solar wind become neutral after stealing electrons from the hydrogen atoms. They then collide with other molecules in the Martian atmosphere, producing an ultraviolet glow.
Since the hydrogen cloud surrounding the planet is created in part by water being lost to space, this could give scientists a way to measure the amount of water lost over time.
When the MAVEN team first observed the proton aurora, they thought they were witnessing an unusual phenomenon. “At first, we believed that these events were rather rare because we weren’t looking at the right times and places,” Mike Chaffin, a research scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) said in a statement.
After Chaffin’s team took a closer look, they discovered that the proton auroras occur quite frequently, especially in the summer. This is probably due to seasonal variation in the hydrogen cloud that surrounds Mars. The team noted that during the Martian summer, the cloud lines up just right to produce near-constant auroras.
But that’s not all. The researchers also discovered that as temperatures climb during the summer, rising dust clouds would carry water vapor away from the planet’s surface. That water vapor is then broken down into its components: hydrogen and oxygen. As more hydrogen escapes into space, it enhances the hydrogen cloud enveloping Mars and ultimately leads to more frequent (and brighter) proton auroras.
“Observations of proton auroras at Mars provides a unique perspective of hydrogen and, therefore, water loss from the planet,” physicist Edwin Mierkiewicz of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida said in a statement.
“Through this research, we can gain a deeper understanding of the Sun’s interactions with the upper atmosphere of Mars and with similar bodies in our Solar System, or in another solar system, that lacks a global magnetic field.”
So, if we ever do make it to Mars, those first visitors are going to witness some truly out-of-this-world sights—as long as they packed their ultraviolet goggles.
Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new rules that the Trump Administration is aiming to enforce on autonomous vehicles. On Thursday, NHTSA, under the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Transportation, commenced rulemaking on the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
This effort aims to eliminate the mandate for manual brake pedals in vehicles that are designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems. This would impact the Tesla Cybercab, which the company has stated would operate without a steering wheel or pedals.
Tesla Cybercab launch is imminent after latest sighting at Giga Texas
The Trump Administration is looking to revise FMVSS No. 135, which requires standard braking systems on light-duty vehicles.
Currently, the regulation requires light-duty cars to use traditional manual braking systems that allow operators to slow the vehicle. With the advent of self-driving in the U.S., these regulations need updating, and these are the changes that could come to FMVSS No. 135:
- Removes requirements for hand- or foot-operated brake controls for vehicles designed never to be operated by a human. Existing rules still apply to AVs that retain manual controls.
- All subject vehicles must still meet the same stopping distance performance criteria via alternative testing procedures.
- While this update ensures AVs can physically stop when commanded, NHTSA is separately developing safety performance requirements for AVs in real-world driving scenarios.
- NHTSA will continue to use its broad defect enforcement authority to investigate unsafe ADS behavior and oversee recalls.
As autonomy becomes a greater part of passenger travel, these types of rule adjustments will be more than reasonable. It will give manufacturers the ability to self-certify their vehicles and avoid any red tape that could ultimately delay the deployment of these vehicles.
Administrators are also incredibly excited about the opportunity to play a role in the advancement of self-driving vehicles.
“We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said. “If we want America to lead the way, we have to reimagine our regulatory framework. That’s why under Secretary Sean Duffy’s AV Framework, NHTSA is tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter and holding AV developers accountable for safe performance.”
The Cybercab entered mass production at Gigafactory Texas in April. Tesla ultimately plans to push the vehicle into its Robotaxi fleet, potentially when frameworks like these are established.
Tesla plans to boost production at its Gigafactory Berlin plant in Germany following a sharp rebound in sales and demand in Europe after a softer 2025.
The plans put Tesla in a better position to compete with strengthening companies in Europe and potentially other markets; demand indicators show Tesla is much better off than in 2025.
Last year was a tough year for Tesla in terms of overall demand in Europe. The company produced over 200,000 vehicles at the German plant last year, a soft figure compared to the 375,000 vehicles Tesla lists as its current capacity at the factory.
🚨 Tesla said this morning it will ramp up production at Gigafactory Berlin to a volume of 7,500 vehicles per week.
This is a 20 percent boost in production. Tesla will hire 1,000 new employees to help with the increase.$TSLA pic.twitter.com/kravKfRO5n
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 25, 2026
Tesla’s overall European sales dropped significantly last year due to a variety of factors. However, sales are rebounding, and demand is strong once again, and only getting stronger. Tesla is now planning to bump production of Model Y vehicles at Giga Berlin upward by about 20 percent. It will also bring 1,000 new jobs to the plant.
Tesla confirmed the details of its planned production expansion in Germany this morning. It is a strategy to keep up with strengthening demand.
In Q1, Tesla saw a record 61,000 vehicles produced at Giga Berlin. European registrations rebounded sharply, with Model Y seeing 117 percent increases in March 2026 compared to last year. Germany alone saw stark increases, with a quadrupling in registrations to 9,252 units.
This trend continued in other key European markets, including France, Denmark and Sweden. Tesla registrations were up over 46 percent in some of these markets, and Model Y continued its trend as a top BEV in the market.
Demand has been recovering strongly in 2026, giving Tesla a reason to expand production efforts at the factory. These increases signal management’s confidence in sustained or growing European pull for Berlin-built vehicles.
Tesla is being sued by the family of the woman who was killed in a Texas crash involving a Model 3. The driver, who is also being sued, claimed the vehicle was operating on Autopilot mode, but Tesla executives have come out challenging that claim, stating that the driver of the vehicle overrode the system.
The lawsuit was filed by 76-year-old Martha Avila’s daughter and her husband, who allege a “design defect” involving a Tesla and a failure to warn. The suit alleges negligence against Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler.
Butler “stated he was operating with an automated driving assistance system engaged at the time of the crash,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative, the Sheriff’s Office said, according to NBC News.
Just after reports of the crash and numerous headlines that immediately blamed Tesla’s Autopilot suite, both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Head of AI Ashok Elluswamy challenged that. Musk said the crash made “no sense” given that Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving do not travel at the speeds the door cameras captured the car traveling at, which Tesla says was 73 MPH.
Tesla finally clarifies fatal Texas crash, confirms driver manually overrode acceleration
Elluswamy also revealed that Tesla data showed Butler overrode the system by pressing the accelerator to 100%, and that the pedal was compressed fully even after the car had crashed. Tesla has not released this data to the public, likely because it is communicating with agencies like the NHTSA on an investigation.
The suit uses a Washington Post analysis of government data that “identified at least 17 fatal incidents linked to Tesla Autopilot.”
This is far from the first time an accident has been blamed on Autopilot. A fatal crash in Texas was blamed on Autopilot several years ago, but when Tesla released data to the NTSB, which was investigating the crash, Autopilot was not available where the crash occurred, and Autosteer was never enabled, meaning the car was manually controlled at the time of the accident.
“Application of the accelerator pedal was found to be as high as 98.8 percent,” the NTSB said in their findings. The highest recorded speed in the five seconds leading up to the impact was 67 miles per hour. The area where the crash occurred is residential, and Texas State laws… pic.twitter.com/XGD97NHVZ2
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 18, 2026
More information on the accident will be released as Tesla works with agencies to find the cause of the crash. From personal experience, it is hard to imagine Tesla Autopilot or FSD operating in this manner. It drives sometimes too cautiously in residential areas in parking lots, at least in my experience. Speeding happens, but at this rate in this type of area, it is hard to believe.
We look forward to more details being released with time.
Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new Trump autonomy rules
Tesla plans production boost at Giga Berlin following rebound in Europe
