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NASA’s Perseverance Rover is the space agency’s first Mars rover equipped with microphones, allowing it to record sounds from beyond our planet. NASA intends to use one of these microphones to record the rover’s landing on the red planet, but recently turned it on during space travel to get a 60-second recording.
NASA launched its Perseverance rover this summer; it will arrive on Mars in February, bringing with it new tools for studying the planet, as well as a tiny helicopter. The rover is equipped with multiple microphones, one of which is called “EDL”. The instrument’s name refers to its purpose: NASA will use it to record the rover’s entry, descent, and landing on the red planet.
On October 19, the NASA team turned on the EDL microphone on Perseverance during a check of the rover’s camera and microphone system. A one-minute audio clip was recorded which has now been made available to the public for listening on the space agency’s SoundCloud account.
The rover is currently in space, which isn’t the best place to collect audio, NASA notes. However, the microphone can pick up the vibrations experienced by the payload, giving it some audio to record. This audio file was processed by the Danish company that made the EDL microphone hardware.
In addition to the novelty of getting an audio file recorded in space, NASA notes the true importance of the recording: it shows that the EDL microphone works. When Perseverance arrives on Mars early next year, the microphone will pick up all the sounds of the rover’s landing, including parachute release and wheels hitting the ground.
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