Sound of Mars through DPA mic

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

The podcast of this conversation also contains the first sound clips of the rover’s space journey to Mars. Here, the omni directional DPA mic mainly picks up sound from the rover itself, as it is attached to the rover. In space, in the vacuum, weightless atmosphere such as that in the cargo bay of a spacecraft, sound does not carry. So what you do hear is the mechanical noise of the pump that keeps the rover’s energy source cool. You could call this rover self-noise.

Unfortunately, due to software problems during the EDL phase, the sound recordings of this have not been preserved, but this may make the first recordings of the Perseverance all the more impressive: the sound of wind gusts, as if you were standing on Mars and the sound of the wheels of the Perseverance rolling over Mars terrain. For the full article and the podcast, click this link:

https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/sound-mars-dpa-microphones-podcast

If you are only interested in the sounds of Mars, check this site:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020