“This is an example of how the different payload instrument suites complement each other, resulting in information synergy,” said Soren Madsen, Perseverance payload development manager. The laser is designed to zap surrounding rocks in order to test chemical composition, but the microphone also seeks to record those zaps to get a better understand of rock composition, including its relative hardness.īut like much of the Ingenuity portion of the mission, the microphone has proved to be a versatile machine capable of performing other more extemporaneous feats.

The microphone component was initially installed as part of the Perseverance’s central mission and was attached to the rover’s laser instrumentation. “This recording will be a gold mine for our understanding of the Martian atmosphere,” he said. Mimoun is the science lead for the audio recording device and camera installed on the Perseverance rover and said while the sound capture is fun for the millions of devoted Ingenuity fans, it also helps scientists learn about Mars. “We had carried out tests and simulations that told us the microphone would barely pick up the sounds of the helicopter, as the Mars atmosphere damps the sound propagation strongly.” “This is a very good surprise,” said David Mimoun, a professor of planetary science at Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France. NASA scientists were pleasantly surprised Perseverance, which recorded the flight, was able to do so at all, given it was parked about 262 feet from the small helicopter when it took off. The audio recording was taken during Ingenuity’s fourth test flight on April 30 and faintly captures the rotary blades whirring at about 2,500 rotations per minute. Ingenuity is only 4 pounds and about 2 feet in height, but the diminutive drone has stolen the show even as the Perseverance Rover has begun combing the Jezero Crater in quest of the first signs of life found outside of planet Earth. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory released an audio file on Friday morning of Ingenuity, the small helicopter drone currently part of the Perseverance Rover mission to Mars, as it flew through the Martian atmosphere. (CN) - It may appear difficult to make the case that a barely audible hum resembling a mosquito buzz represents one of mankind’s greatest achievements, but NASA’s release of an audio file on Friday accomplishes exactly that.

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