Hear The Sounds Of Mars, As Recorded By NASA's Perseverance Rover

Ever wondered what Mars sounds like? NASA's Perseverance rover is changing our understanding of Mars' physiology and now its natural sonic abilities as well.

You can now hear what being on Mars is like for Perseverance - sounds and all! The audio is loaded with natural sounds of Mars - the gusting wind, the movement of rover wheels on the crusty gravel, and the sound of motors. While most of these sounds are about human technology on Mars, these still offer a compelling glimpse into what being on Mars would be like for humans one day.

NASA

The punchy sounds of Mars

A planetary scientist referred to the punchy Martian sounds as bass-laden. Baptiste Chide from L'Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France told Phys.org that the sounds from Mars have a strong bass. "You can really feel it", he added.

We know how easy it to get lost in the outstanding visuals that are coming in from Mars courtesy of Perseverance every other week. But audio is as important as video to truly understand the planet.

Listen to Martian sounds below (headphones recommended)

?It's not rocket science (ironically)! The scientists recorded the mesmerising Martian noises using easily available microphones, making Perseverance the first spacecraft to capture the Red Planet's sounds.

Also read:?Water On Mars: NASA Perseverance Rover Confirms Existence Of Ancient Lake

One of the mics is situated in Perseverance's mast to complement the SuperCam's visual readings from the planet.

Using a laser, the SuperCam studies the soil of Mars. The resulting vapour from the laser is recorded using a camera. The complementary audio recorder has already clocked in sounds about 25,000 laser shots.

NASA

With help from these audio recordings, scientists are understanding Mars' atmosphere better. The sensors on Perseverance are capable of recording "microturbulence", i.e., minor changes in the air around the rover.

Also read:?Humans Could Reach Mars In One Month In This 200,000 Kmph Nuclear Rocket

The MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer) sensor records the speed of wind, pressure, and temperature on Mars for up to 2 hours at once. SuperCam's microphone also possesses similar recording abilities.

NASA

Why sound on Mars is different

Sound travels differently on Mars than Earth, for the Red Planet's atmospheres is less dense than our planet's. The first sounds were picked by Igenuity helicopter on April 30. Since then, scientists have understood that sound travels a lot farther than on Earth.?

That's not all! The sounds of the mechanical buzzing might not interest the general observer, but it could help diagnose potential issues with the rover and spacecraft in the future.

Would you like to hear more sounds from around the world, errr, space? Let us know in the comments below.

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