X

NASA Perseverance rover sends back first sounds from Mars: Hear them here

The sound of a brief wind gust has never been so dramatic.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
Expertise Solar, solar storage, space, science, climate change, deregulated energy, DIY solar panels, DIY off-grid life projects. CNET's "Living off the Grid" series. https://www.cnet.com/feature/home/energy-and-utilities/living-off-the-grid/ Credentials
  • Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Eric Mack
2 min read
Watch this: Watch NASA's Perseverance landing video (and hear the sounds of Mars)

NASA's Perseverance rover traveled to Mars equipped with microphones to capture its descent and landing, as well as the environment of the Martian surface. While the system didn't manage to record audio to go along with the stunning video of the descent and landing, one of the microphones on Perseverance has sent back sounds from the red planet's surface.

The brief audio sample, which can be heard in the embedded video clip above, features the whirring sounds of the rover operating, punctuated by a brief gust of wind.

It's faint and short, but chilling nonetheless to get a whole new type of sensory data from our neighboring planet for the first time in human history.

Mission team members told reporters Monday they look forward to using Perseverance's microphones to hear more wind, storms, perhaps falling rocks and the sound of the rover's wheels crunching over rocks or its drill cracking the Martian surface.

In addition, sound could become a new tool to listening for the sounds of the rover itself to analyze how well its components are working and potentially diagnose any problems.

Members of the Perseverance team also warn that the microphones may not last forever due to the extreme conditions on Mars, including frigid temperatures, dust and radiation.

However long they last we'll look forward to what happens next in our first interplanetary audio drama.

Follow CNET's 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.