[ad_1]
In another first, NASA Rover perseverance he has delivered some fascinating “thumps, pings and rattles” as he makes his way through rugged Martian terrain for the first time.
NASA released the new audio on Wednesday, marking the first sounds of the rover making its way through the Crater lake when your search for ancient life begins. The audio, one of the first recorded on another planet, contains the movement of the rover’s six wheels moving across the surface of the red planet.
Over 16 minutes of audio highlighting Perseverance’s 90-foot journey on March 7 were captured by the rover entry, descent and landing (EDL), which remained operational after the nail-biting landing a few weeks earlier.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
The microphone, which is just a standard “out of the box” model, was specifically added to the mobile for capture the landing and it was not originally intended for surface operations, but the sounds of Perseverance gliding across the surface of Mars are certainly an added bonus.
“A lot of people, when they see the images, they don’t appreciate that the wheels are metal,” said Vandi Verma, a senior engineer and rover driver at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “When you drive on these wheels on rocks, it’s actually very loud.”
NASA has released two versions of the same disc. The first includes over 16 minutes of raw, unedited sounds from PerseveranceWheels and suspension move across the surface, as well as a sharp, unexpected scratching noise.
The source of the noise is not yet known, but it may be due to electromagnetic interference with one of the rover’s electronic boxes or interactions between the rover and the ground.
The second audio is only 90 seconds long, a condensed version of the unit with clips that have been processed and edited to filter out some of the noise.
“If I heard these sounds driving my car I’d stop and ask for it to be towed,” said Dave Gruel, lead engineer for the Mars 2020 EDL microphone and camera subsystem. “But if you take a minute to consider what you’re hearing and where it was recorded, it makes a lot of sense. “
“The variations between Earth and Mars, we have a visual sense of that,” Verma added. “But sound is a completely different dimension: seeing the differences between Earth and Mars, and experiencing that environment more closely.”
On Thursday, astronauts Dr. Kate Rubins and Commander Victor Glover, both aboard the International Space Station, told CBSN Boston that watching the rover land from the ISS was akin to a Super Bowl party.
“We were all gathered around the TV, we were people watching at JPL. Our hearts were in our throats, I think like everyone else who watches it live,” Rubins said. “It was absolutely incredible. If you have not seen the video of the landing, it is amazing. Theoretically you know that we are landing something on Mars, but it is different to see it. It was impressive.”
Less than a week after landing, Perseverance returned the first audio recordings from the surface of the red planet, which captured the sounds of the Martian wind passing by, as well as the hum of the vehicle itself. Members of the mission team said they expect to hear many more sounds from Mars, including more wind, storms, falling rocks and the sound of Perseverance’s drill as it excavates the surface.
Between the 19 cameras on the rover and its two microphones, scientists should have a lot to work with.
The audio can also tell scientists how well Perseverance is working and potentially identify problems with the rover. But, due to the harsh conditions on Mars, scientists warn that the microphones may not last the duration of the mission.
Sometime in April, Perseverance will place an experimental helicopter called Ingenuity on the Martian surface. The helicopter will then attempt the first controlled and powerful flight on another planet. After that, Percy can start digging.
