NASA announced today that the rover has picked up sound from Martian dust for the first time and could help scientists better understand how the dust might affect future missions to Mars, engadget reports.
The rover’s microphones picked up the dust on Sept. 27, 2021. To the middle ear, it sounds similar to a microphone picking up wind gusts on Earth, but scientists can learn more.
“As the dust passes over Perseverance, we can actually feel the individual impacts of the grains on the lander and we can actually count them,” Naomi Murdoch, a planetary scientist and author of the new report, told the Washington Post.
Dust is a major factor in planning missions to Mars and can corrode spacecraft heat shields, damage scientific instruments, clog parachutes and suffocate solar panels.
Scientists estimate the recorded tornado to be about 82 feet wide and 387 feet tall. While it might sound scary, this relatively small storm didn’t damage the rover.
