Researchers crack secrets of ‘alien storms’ in Gujarat lab

Vadodara: What if scientists could recreate the lightning storms of planet Venus or Jupiter inside a laboratory in Gujarat?What sounded like science fiction has now become a reality, with researchers from Anand and Ahmedabad developing a patented technology that can simulate lightning found on other planets under controlled laboratory conditions.The innovation is expected to help scientists better understand planetary atmospheres and support future space exploration missions.The breakthrough was achieved jointly by researchers from Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT), Changa, and the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.Their patented invention, titled “A System and Method for Performing Lightning Characterisation and Detection for Realisation of a Planetary Lightning,” enables scientists to recreate extraterrestrial atmospheric conditions and study lightning-related phenomena without having to rely solely on costly and time-consuming space missions.Scientists have long believed that lightning can reveal crucial information about a planet’s atmosphere, weather patterns, cloud dynamics and chemical composition. However, studying such electrical activity on planets like Venus, Jupiter and Saturn has remained a major challenge due to the hostile and distant environments involved.The newly developed system overcomes this hurdle by generating planetary atmospheric conditions within a laboratory and producing controlled lightning discharges for detailed analysis.

The project was funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) RESPOND programme, which provided financial assistance of Rs 43.3 lakh.During the initial phase, researchers recreated the atmosphere of Venus inside a vacuum chamber using a gas mixture closely resembling the planet’s actual composition, which consists largely of carbon dioxide.Artificial lightning was then generated and detected using specially designed antennas that captured the resulting electromagnetic signals.The patented technology was developed by a team comprising Dr Trushit Upadhyay, principal of CSPIT and principal investigator of the project; PRL scientist Jayesh Pabari; Dr Upesh Patel, head of the electronics and communication engineering department at CSPIT, Dr Killol Pandya, associate professor at CSPIT; and PRL scientists Ramakant Mahajan and Dr Anil Bhardwaj.Explaining the significance of the innovation, Patel said the technology allows researchers to study how lightning behaves in planetary atmospheres and how the resulting electromagnetic waves can be detected and interpreted.“We have successfully developed a system that recreates planetary atmospheric conditions and captures lightning signals through antennas. The next phase of our research focuses on analysing these signals and developing advanced instruments that can be used for future planetary missions,” he said.According to the researchers, the data generated through such simulations could help scientists better understand the atmospheric characteristics of planets and their moons, while also aiding the development of lightning-detection payloads for future space missions.