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A dust devil from Mars was caught making a noise.
A large dust storm overtook the Perseverance rover as it explored an ancient lake on Mars, and accidentally turned on its microphone, according to a new study published in Nature Communications on the 13th (local time) the first recorded sound of dust. devil
Mars is dusty and windy, creating dust storms known as dust devils. This is a common phenomenon that is created when the surface of Mars, heated by the sun, rises rapidly through the cooler atmosphere. NASA’s InSight Mars lander also recorded seismic and magnetic signals produced by dust devils. However, this is the first time the audio has been captured.
Recording the sound of the dust devil was possible by accident.
Percivirence’s microphone isn’t on constantly, but it does record about three minutes a day every few days. This is the captured voice of the dust devil. It was on 27 September last year. It’s about 11 seconds long.
It is not unexpected. Since last February, when Percivirance landed in Jejero Crater, it has seen evidence of around 100 dust demons here.
Mars has an atmosphere that is about 1% as thick as Earth, which makes it difficult to make sound. Even when a storm rages, it doesn’t make a huge noise.
The sound of the dust devil is subtle. The Washington Post (WP) expressed, “It cracks like when static electricity hits, but you can also imagine a breeze shaking the leaves of palm trees in the distance.” “Then there are a few moments of silence as the dust devil passes over the persistence,” said the WP.
Analyzing these short sounds and the visual images taken by the SuperCam above Perseverance, the researchers estimated that the dust devil is about 25 meters (m) wide and 118 meters high. It is taller than the Statue of Liberty, including the pedestal.
“Dust storms are important for understanding the climate on Mars,” said Naomi Murdoch, Ph.D., of ISAE-SUPAERO, University of Toulouse, France, first author of the study. ) can improve our understanding of dust devils and will help improve climate models for Mars.”
“However, research is needed because microscopic particles etc. can damage hardware such as the rover’s scientific equipment,” said Dr Murdoch. He added that Percivirance’s wind sensor had already been damaged by dust particles.
