March 28, 2024

The Sounds of Mars: Hear the Wind and Crunch of Rover Wheels on the Red Planet

NASA suggests utilizing earphones while listening to the recordings (such as in the video above), as the sounds from Mars are more subtle and quieter than they are on Earth, due to Mars less dense atmosphere.
” If you blow across the top of a Coke bottle, the resultant tone depends the homes of the environment and the size of the bottle,” Delory explained. “If you do that on Mars, the Coke bottle would release a frequency that is about 2/3 of the value of what you d get on Earth. There is a general shift in everything sounding lower in frequency.”.
Peaceful or higher pitched seem like an individual whistling and or a bird chirping would be practically invisible on Mars. In truth, engineers and scientists were rather shocked when the microphone got the Ingenuity helicopters buzzing rotors throughout its 4th flight, on April 30, from a distance of 262 feet (80 meters).
NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter acquired this image utilizing its navigation electronic camera, acquired on Oct. 24, 2021 (Sol 241 of the Perseverance rover objective). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Delory, who is the CEO and co-founder of the area hardware business Heliospace, helped design the very first Mars microphone. That microphone became part of the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander mission that launched in 1999, however crashed to the surface area of Mars. Hes thrilled to now finally hear the noises he had intended to hear decades ago.
” Much of the microphone data sounds like I anticipated it would,” Delory told Universe Today. In this case, the most significant surprise was not what Mars had to offer, but what we as people brought there!”.
Engineers at JPL say that understanding the nature of sound on Mars might one day assist them diagnose issues with a spacecraft on a distant world, comparable to how a vehicle mechanic might listen carefully to an engine to find out whats incorrect with it.
These business grade microphones resemble the ones on board the Perseverance rover. Image courtesy DPA.
The two microphones on Perseverance were created from commercially available, off-the-shelf gadgets. One of the mics rests on the side of the rovers chassis. The 2nd mic is on Perseverances mast as an enhance to the SuperCam laser instruments investigations of rocks and the environment.
These photos reveal the microphones used in 2 earlier objectives. On left, the Mars Descent Imager and microphone for the Phoenix lander; right, the gadget for the stopped working Mars Polar Lander.
The microphone Delory assisted style for the Mars Polar lander likewise used off-the-shelf parts. In his own work years ago and then just recently consulting for the Perseverance team, he had a pretty great “sense” of what Mars would sound like.
” I can indeed picture being right there,” he stated. “Ive had many moments in desert environments running one test or another, including microphones, and experiencing the spooky silence right before a dust devil goes by, or a lightning strike in the distance. Its great to see a microphone on Mars lastly occur– and to have such a dedicated group behind it.”.
Picture of the Ingenuity helicopter, taken by the Perseverance rovers MastCam-Z on June 15, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL/.
Further reading/listening: Audio from PerseveranceJPL press releaseThe Planetary Society: Perseverance Microphones Fulfill Planetary Society Campaign to Hear Sounds from MarsHeliospace.
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Two microphones aboard the Perseverance Rover have actually recorded “alien” sounds on Mars– the sounds of a human-made spacecraft crunching its wheels on the Red Planets surface area, or its motors whirring, or blasts from its scientific laser instrument. Perseverances microphones have also recorded the sounds of another spacecraft– the Ingenuity helicopter– flying. During the five or so hours recorded up until now, you can hear the Martian wind gusting in the background.
” Weve been able to see Mars from the rovers perspective for a rather a long time now,” stated Greg Delory, an expert to the Mars 2020 rover microphone group, “so to have another sense on Mars is quite incredible.”.

NASA and JPL have released an interactive site that offers listeners the chance to hear the recordings from millions of kilometers/miles away on the Red Planet. You can also listen to how sounds from Earth would sound on Mars, and even record your own greeting and hear how you d sound on Mars.

2 microphones aboard the Perseverance Rover have actually taped “alien” sounds on Mars– the noises of a human-made spacecraft crunching its wheels on the Red Planets surface, or its motors whirring, or blasts from its scientific laser instrument. That microphone was part of the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander mission that introduced in 1999, but crashed to the surface area of Mars. On left, the Mars Descent Imager and microphone for the Phoenix lander; right, the gadget for the failed Mars Polar Lander. The microphone Delory helped design for the Mars Polar lander likewise utilized off-the-shelf parts. In his own work years back and then recently speaking with for the Perseverance team, he had a quite great “sense” of what Mars would sound like.