Sounds from Perseverance rover on Mars surprises scientists

NASA’s Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has two microphones that are recording hours of audio every day.

As the rover explores Mars, it’s almost unsettling to imagine its world where the wind is gentle, and the air is silent.

For the first year of recording, scientists wondered if they were even collecting any viable data.

“It is so quiet that, at some point, we thought the microphone was broken!” says Dr Baptiste Chide

Once scientists started listening to the audio for signs of sound, they realized they could hear a lot

the inner workings of the rover’s instruments whirled to life while Martian wind brushed against the microphone.

From the rover’s wheels crunching over the Jezero Crater terrain to its SuperCam instrument firing a laser at Martian rock

Perseverance seems to have a lot to say.