Since we are not (yet) able to set foot on Mars, we have had experience with robot proxy through our rovers, including Perseverance, which landed last February 18th. In addition to the photos we’ve collected of the surface over the decades, our ever-improving data connection to Mars made it possible to see videos of Perseverance’s landing. This dramatic deployment of the parachute and the dust spray from the landing thrusters – amazing! I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried. Through perseverance, we experience the exploration of Mars with a different meaning – SOUND! Sound from another planet !! Using the Perseverance Entry, Descent and Landing Microphone (EDL Mic), we recently made audio recordings of Perseverance’s wheels rolling over the Mars regolith (broken rocks and dust or “earth”). The following audio segment is an edited portion of the sound highlights from a longer 16-minute raw audio file.
NASA engineers combined three segments from the recorded raw audio file as the Perseverance Mars rover rolled over a section of the Jezero crater on Sol 16 of the mission. Sections 0: 20-0: 45, 6: 40-7: 10 and 14: 30-15: 00 were combined in this 90-second highlight clip. It has been processed and edited to filter out some of the noise.
C. NASA / JPL-Caltech
And if you haven’t seen the video of Perseverance’s landing here, this is it!
Endurance relegation and touchdown – c. NASA / JPL
The grinding
Vandi Verma, senior engineer and rover operator at NASA JPL, notes that Percy’s wheels are quite noisy because they are made of metal rather than rubber. The rover’s wheel design has also been improved over the previous Curiosity rover. Both rovers have wheels made of flight aluminum with titanium spokes. Since Martian rocks experience little weathering, they have sharp edges and have damaged the wheels of Curiosity in the course of their mission. As a result, rover operators have changed how / where they navigate. The Perseverance wheel design consists of a thicker aluminum than Curiosity (1 mm compared to 0.75 mm) and a new profile design. During testing, it was shown that the new profile is more resistant to sharp stones and increases the traction of Perseverance compared to that of Curiosity.
Red arrows indicate broken aluminum profiles on Curiosity’s wheels captured by the rover’s cameras. c. NASA / JPL – Caltech
The rover’s wheels dragging against the battle ground aren’t the only sounds picked up from the surface. Perseverance has a second microphone on the SuperCam, an all-in-one camera, microphone, and LASER that can be used to search for organic compounds that indicate past lives on Mars. The laser can hit stones up to 7 meters away and remove surface dust, allowing SuperCam to scan the target cleanly. Persistence ended up in the Octavia Butler landing zone in Jezero Crater due to the crater’s ancient identity as a lake billions of years ago. Where there was water, there may have been life, and SuperCam can identify soil types that may have retained ancient microbial fossil specimens. The integrated microphone of SuperCam monitors the firing of the laser, but has also detected the Martian wind! I got chills when I heard this. You hear the atmosphere of another world!
Audio by Martian Wind from Perseverance Rovers SuperCam c. NASA / JPL
Endurance Rover wheels wrapped in protective cover.
The wheels have a diameter of 52.2 cm. c. NASA / JPL Comparison of Curiosity and Endurance Profile Design c. NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS
Take flight
Perseverance is currently looking for a suitable place to deploy its companion Ingenuity – the first flying rover we ever sent to another world. As soon as an “airfield” is found, Ingenuity begins an evaluation period of 30 sols (a Mars day that lasts 24 hours 39 minutes) with five planned test flights. When the test flights are over, perseverance and ingenuity begin their main task in search of signs of the old life. As part of the mission, Perseverance will pack and store Martian soil samples for a future return trip to Earth. Eventually, these samples can be opened and examined in laboratories on our own planet. Doesn’t sound like the beginning of a science fiction film at all.
Hovering Above Mars: Universe Today Video by Fraser Cain
While Perseverance is still on Mars, you can stay up to date on the location in real time via the Where is Perseverance website. In the meantime, we’re all eagerly awaiting Ingenuity’s first flight. Stay tuned!
Functional picture: Some of the first Perseverance tire tracks captured by one of Percy’s Hazcams or Hazard Avoidance Cameras. c. NASA / JPL
More to discover:
Another first: Endurance captures the sounds of driving on Mars (nasa.gov)
Perseverance Rover’s SuperCam Science Instrument delivers initial results (nasa.gov)
Better tires to ride on Mars – Universe Today
Perseverance Rover Location map – NASA Mars
The Mars helicopter is online and ready to fly – Universe today
On Vandi Verma NASA Mars, scientists encourage girls to reach for the stars Reuters
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.