Go to Mars without being there! Listen to dust devil sound captured by Perseverance Rover | Tech News

Go to Mars without being there! Listen to dust devil sound captured by Perseverance Rover

NASA's Mars Rover Perseverance has captured the sound made by a dust devil. Yes, we kid you not and you can listen to it here.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Dec 15 2022, 10:59 IST
Top NASA tech that solved Mars myths and mysteries like never before
Mars
1/10 Humans have been studying Mars for hundred of years. In 1609, Galileo was the first person to peer through a telescope and get a more intimate image of what many could only have dreamed of. (Pixabay)
Mars
2/10 An up close and personal view of the red planet emerged as time progressed and so did the capabilities of telescopes. In fact, from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, many astronomers believed that Mars was home to majestic seas and lush areas of vegetation. The Dark markings on Mars surface were once believed to be caused by vegetation growing and dying. (Pixabay)
image caption
3/10 Some even believed that intelligent life existed on Mars just because of what they saw through their simple telescopes. But that is exactly was science is about-you make educated guesses based on what you know, then change your ideas based on what you learn. (NASA)
image caption
4/10 Now, thanks to new sophisticated equipment and robotic visits to Mars, it turns out they were caused by Martian wind. It was not until the 1960s, when NASA's Mariner missions flew by and snapped pictures of Mars that many of the myths about the red planet were dispelled. (NASA)
image caption
5/10 That does not make Mars any less interesting. The possibility that life actually existed once on Mars is still a distinct possibility. Or it may even be existing on Mars today! No, not in the form of little green men, but on a microbial level. (NASA)
image caption
6/10 Now, taking pictures is great and all. But nothing is better than getting to know the real thing. So, to get a better feel of Mars, Scientists and engineers built some nifty technologies, from spacecrafts to reach Mars and rovers (vehicles) to actually trundle and explore the planet. (NASA/JPL)
image caption
7/10 Among the earliest tech deployed for Mars was Phoenix. It was launched on August 4, 2007 and so began its 9-month long, 681 Million km journey to the legendary red planet. Now, landing on a planet is not as easy as simply dropping a spacecraft onto it. There is actually a lot of steps to the process. (NASA)
image caption
8/10 On May 25, 2008, Phoenix entered Mars atmosphere. It used its heat shield to slow down the high speed entry of 5600 meters per second or around 12500 miles per hour. It released a supersonic PARACHUTE, then detached from its parachute and used its rocket engines to land safely on the planet's surface. Phoenix' landing spot was further north and closer to the ice covered poles than any spacecraft has ever been before. (NASA)
image caption
9/10 Phoenix had two primary goals: One was to study the history of water in the Martian arctic and the other was to search for evidence of a habitual zone and assess the biological potential of the ice soil boundary. And to do that the spacecraft was packed full of gizmos and gadgets to perform all sets of experiments and tests. One of these gizmos was a robotic arm with a shovel attached. It was used to dig up samples of the martian soil for experiments! (NASA)
image caption
10/10 Another top tech on the Mars surface was the Surface Stereo Imager, which is really just a fancy name for the camera. Three surface stereo imagers were Phoenix' eye. Engineers built the device with two optical lenses that would allow for a three dimensional view, just like our eyes. And the SSI sent back some amazing images of the martian landscape. (Source: NASA/Justin Tully) (NASA)
Mars
icon View all Images
The Mars dust devil is a whirlwind consisting of red dust particles, shortlived, but they rumble in with gusts of up to 25 mph. (Pixabay)

The way the trend is growing, probably, you would want to visit Mars. Well, that is unlikely to happen, unfortunately. However, that should not spoil your mood too much as you can experience what it feels like to be on Mars, at least what some things sound like. NASA's Mars Rover Perseverance has captured the sound made by a dust devil. Yes, we kid you not and you can listen to it here.

How did it happen? By chance the rover had its microphone on when a whirling tower of red dust passed directly overhead and it recorded the sound.

So, what is a dust devil? A dust devil is a whirlwind consisting of red dust particles, shortlived, but they rumble in with gusts of up to 25 mph.

So, what does a dust devil sound like on Mars? Mars's thin atmosphere makes these dust devils quieter, unlike dust devils on Earth. When the dust devil hits the rover, then its navigator camera captured its images, and its weather monitoring devices collected data.

This dust devil was 400 feet tall 80 feet across and traveling at 16 feet per second. According to scientists, it was just luck that the devil appeared in those 3 minutes of the day when the rover's microphone is turned on. Otherwise there was absolutely no chance of it getting captured.

These recordings help scientists to study the Martian wind, atmospheric turbulence, and dust movements. The rocks present there might contain microbial life which in turn helps scientists to understand the atmosphere of Mars.

So, what does a dust devil sound like on Mars? Listen to the recording below:

Perseverance has collected 18 samples which will be brought to Earth for further research. Helicopter Ingenuity is also busy working there and logged many flights with the longest lasting for 3 minutes.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 15 Dec, 10:59 IST
Tags:
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS