NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures First-Ever Audio Recording of Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover uses onboard microphones to record the first audio of the Martian surface, featuring a faint breeze and mechanical sounds. The rover also provides stunning high-definition video of its harrowing landing in Jezero Crater.
NASA's Perseverance rover provides the first-ever audio recording of sounds on Mars using a pair of onboard microphones. Because the Martian atmosphere is only one percent as dense as Earth's and has a completely different chemical makeup, sounds on the Red Planet differ significantly from what people hear on Earth. The historic 60-second clip captures a brief Martian breeze alongside the mechanical sounds of the rover operating on the surface.
In addition to this groundbreaking audio, the rover captures thrilling high-definition footage of its landing in Mars' Jezero Crater. The video begins seven miles above the surface and shows the supersonic deployment of the largest parachute ever sent to another world. It concludes with the spacecraft's final touchdown, giving scientists and the public an unprecedented front-row view of the infamous "seven minutes of terror."
NASA officials praise the footage and audio as some of the most iconic visuals in space exploration history. Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk notes that the media highlights the remarkable engineering and precision required to land a vehicle on Mars. Meanwhile, JPL Director Michael Watkins expresses awe at seeing the explosive parachute deployment and the landing rockets' plume kicking up dust and debris upon contact with the surface.