NASA’s Perseverance Rover has captured a mysterious scratching sound on the surface of Mars.
The sounds were recorded as the rover drove past the Jezero crater, an area that scientists said was once flooded with water and home to an ancient river delta.
Do you hear that? This is the sound of my ride over the Martian rocks. This is the first time we are capturing sounds as we ride on Mars.
Read the full story: https://t.co/oqdnCJShjm pic.twitter.com/yKwypUSnE7
– NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) 17 March 2021
In the clip you can also hear a cluttered mix of bangs, pings and rattles, like Perservance six wheels roll over the rocky Mars terrain.
“If I heard these noises driving in my car, I would pull out and drag a tow,” NASA engineer Dave Gruel said. “But if you take a moment to consider what you hear and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense.”
However, the cause of the strange scream remains unknown.
Perseverance engineers suspect that it was caused by electromagnetic interference by the Rover’s electronic boxes or interactions between the mobility system and the Mars terrain. The team says they will continue to investigate the cause.
NASA released two separate recordings of Perseverance’s 90-foot trip on March 7th.
The first version contains more than 16 minutes of raw, unfiltered sounds generated by the wheel and the suspension of the rover along the surface, as well as the high scratch.
The second track is a compilation of 90 seconds of sounds from the journey that have been processed and processed for clarity.
They were picked up by Perseverance’s entry, descent and landing (EDL) microphone during a 90-foot ride on March 7th.
The microphone was added from the shelf to let the public hear the sounds of his touch on February 18, but it still remains in operation today.
[Read: Elon Musk’s SpaceX unveils plans for historic all-civilian mission to space]
A second microphone installed on Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument also sends sounds back to earth.
It contains recordings of the sigh of the Mars wind and a fast ticking sound produced by the Supercam’s laser rocks to understand their structure. Scientists will use the data to look for signs of microscopic life.
Vandi Verma, a NASA engineer and driver of drivers, said the sound alone provides insights into the red planet:
The variations between Earth and Mars – we visually have a feel for it. But sound is a whole other dimension: to notice the differences between Earth and Mars and to experience that environment up close.
You can listen to all the recordings here. Let us know if you hear any signs of alien life.
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