The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Exploration Rover has observed and released the sound of the ‘Dust Devil’, a whirlwind blowing on Mars, for the first time.
IT media Engadget reported on the 13th (local time) that the Percivirance rover captured and released the sound of a so-called ‘dust devil’, a whirlwind crossing the sand dunes of Mars, for the first time.
The rover picked up the Dust Devil’s sound with a microphone on September 27 last year. To the normal ear, the sound sounds similar to a gust of wind blowing from Earth, but scientists seem to be able to glean a lot of information from the sound. (▶Read more https://bit.ly/3iXd3V8)
The research results were recently introduced in the international journal Nature Communications.
Naomi Murdoch, a professor at the University of Toulouse’s School of Advanced Aeronautics and Astronautics in France, said, “When the dust storm passed Percivirence, we might actually hear the dust grains hitting the rover.”
Dust is an important factor for Mars exploration. Dust winds from Mars can erode spacecraft heatsinks, damage advanced equipment, and cover solar panels, causing them to lose power.
Scientists analyzed the data and estimated the size of the whirlwind to be regarding 25 meters wide and 118 meters high. In the audio clip, you can also hear a moment of silence as the whirlwind passes and the dust devil’s eyes briefly brush over the rover.
Percivirence also captured an image with the sound of a dust storm. Since the rover only records less than three minutes of audio information eight times a month, recording and orienting the camera when the dust devil approaches is very tricky.
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“If (the camera) were pointed in a different direction or if the microphone recording was scheduled for a few seconds later, a key piece would have been missed,” explained John Edward Moores, a planetary scientist at the University of York in the UK.
The Perseverance rover left Earth on July 30, 2020 and arrived on Mars on February 18, 2021. Currently, exploration rovers are exploring craters on Mars, looking for traces of ancient life.