Mars orbiters witness solar superstorm striking the Red Planet: 'The timing was extremely lucky'

ESA's Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter were in place to watch a powerful solar superstorm slam into Mars after the same event lit up skies on Earth with unusually low-latitude auroras. The May 11, 2024 storm delivered the equivalent of about 200 days' worth of radiation to the Mars orbiters in just 64 hours, triggered computer glitches aboard both spacecraft, and sent a surge of charged particles into the planet's upper atmosphere.

The storm gave ESA a rare side-by-side look at how a major solar event rewires Mars' upper atmosphere and stresses spacecraft systems.

That matters beyond one storm. Events like this help explain how Mars loses atmosphere over time, and they also show why better space-weather forecasting matters for orbiters, landers, and future crewed exploration. In other words, the same solar violence that made for a spectacular scientific catch is also part of the operational challenge of living and working beyond Earth.