Artist impression of the rover on Martian ground.
(NASA)National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Rover is all set to touch the Martian soil on February 18, 2021. This heavily anticipated mission will undoubtedly provide more information on our neighbouring planet, which not only remains a top contender for potential human colonies beyond Earth, but is also one of the likeliest hubs for possible life outside our world.
Thanks to several exploratory missions and scientific studies, we currently possess a decent amount of knowledge about how Martian geography, atmosphere, other vital characteristics, and essentially what the planet looks and feels like.
Now, through the Perseverance rover, we might also find out what the Red Planet sounds like for the very first time.
As per a new NASA announcement, the Perseverance Rover has been trained to record sounds of the Martian atmosphere. This will be the first attempt by the space agency to record sounds of any planet in our solar system.
The rover is equipped with a pair of microphones that can easily record the ambient sound of Mars. Placed on the SuperCam instrument atop the rover’s mast, the microphone is also said to be quite flexible, and therefore, can be easily pointed in the direction of a potential sound source. It will be purposefully used to record all the natural sounds on Mars.
If all goes as planned, then just like images, the rover will also be able to send back some pristine sounds from our neighbouring world.
Meanwhile, another experimental microphone (aboard rover) is fitted with an aim to record sounds during the mission entry, descent, and landing (EDL). It is also protected with a grid to shield it from the Marian dust during the EDL process.
These instruments will be capable of easily recording sounds of pyrotechnic devices, the winds, wheels landing down the surface, and the roaring engines of the descent vehicle when it will move away from the rover.
How sounds differ on Mars
An artist's concept of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flying through the Red Planet's skies.
(NASA/JPL-Caltech)Using the theoretical models of sound propagation in Mars, experts have decoded why the sounds are distinct on that planet as compared to ours. Three factors, viz. the atmospheric composition, the temperature, and density contribute to the difference in sounds on Mars.
Firstly, Mars's atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide, while Earth’s is that of nitrogen and oxygen. This makes the sound on Mars more attenuated.
“Sounds on Mars are slightly different than they are on Earth because of the atmospheric composition and its properties. All sounds will be lower in volume due to the low pressure. In addition, the higher-frequency tones will be strongly attenuated by the carbon dioxide molecules. All in all, it would be like listening through a wall,” explained Baptiste Chide, a postdoctoral researcher in planetary science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a contributor to the SuperCam microphone.
The second factor is density, which is likely to make sound quieter on Mars, with less signal and noise detectable. Therefore, it will be not easy to hear quieter noises, and in fact, even some louder ones.
Lastly, as for the temperature, scientists have hypothesised that the colder atmosphere of Mars could lower the speed at which sound waves travel towards the microphone. Therefore, the sounds coming from a closer source may not have much difference, but the distant ones may vary.
NASA has already prepared some audios of how common Earthly sounds like birds chirping and bicycle bells ringing would sound on Mars. You can check them out here.
Besides recording ambient sounds, NASA aims to determine if life ever existed on Mars through this mission, while also kick-starting the preparation for future human exploration to the planet. While the previous NASA rover InSight played a key role in confirming the habitable conditions on Mars, Perseverance has been specifically designed to seek signs of past microbial life. It will also drill the Martian soil and collect rock samples for further scientific studies.
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January 16, 2021 at 05:36PM
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Martian Music: NASA to Record Mars' Ambient Sound Through Perseverance Mission for First Time Ever | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com - The Weather Channel
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