2023-10-04 12:10:01
Mars rover microphones reveal secrets of the Red Planet
Space exploration is taking on a new dimension with the use of microphones aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover. These sensors successfully detect wind gusts and even record the sounds of laser pulses from the rover’s instruments. In addition, the microphones recorded the sound of the rotating blades of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity and the rhythm of the MOXIE oxygen production experiment on board Perseverance.
Professor from the University of Southampton, Timothy Leighton, actively supports the idea activation of acoustic sensors into research vehicles for Mars and other space destinations. “It’s not just about listening to sounds,” Layton says. By analyzing recorded sounds, information can be obtained about wind, temperature, chemical composition and turbulence on Mars.
Layton has developed an acoustic simulator for the planetarium that reproduces the expected sounds of various phenomena – thunder, wind and cryovolcanoes, which are found on Venus, Mars and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
Since its landing in February 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has become the first vehicle on the Red Planet capable of transmitting acoustic data from the surface. The main sources of recorded sounds on Mars include the atmosphere (wind and turbulence), shock waves from instruments aboard the rover, and man-made sounds such as the rover’s engines and the rotating blades of the Ingenuity helicopter.
There’s already an entire “Perseverance Playlist” that includes hours of Martian sounds. Researchers note that the brightest sounds are produced by the flights of the Ingenuity helicopter.
Thus, it turns out that outer space can serve as a valuable source of audio recordings.
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