In a first, NASA experts unveil sound of dust devil on Mars
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Researchers hope that the recording will shed more light on the climate on Mars and explain how the red planet may have once supported life.
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The Red Planet; Mars
A new study conducted by planetary experts unveiled on Tuesday the sound of a dust devil on Mars as it passed over NASA's Perseverance rover.
Doubling up! I’ve taken a second sample of loose material from this sandy ripple. #SamplingMars this way adds a new dimension to my other rock cores. See why both engineers and scientists could learn a lot from this material: https://t.co/rEAPXwoejj pic.twitter.com/QrsGUZiaar
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) December 8, 2022
"We hit the jackpot," said the lead author of the study, Naomi Murdoch, as the whirlwind swept over the rover's microphone.
Murdock is also a planetary researcher at France's ISAE-SUPAERO space research institute, where the SuperCam's microphone was designed.
Researchers hope that the recording will shed more light on the climate on Mars and explain how the red planet may have once supported life.
Swirling columns of wind and dust known as dust devils occur frequently on planet Mars, and they are most active in mid-summer due to temperature differences between ground and air.
The largest ones can reach heights of 8 kilometers (5 miles) — much taller than dust devils on Earth.
On September 27, 2021, a dust devil 118 meters (390 feet) high and 25 meters wide passed directly over the Perseverance rover.
"We hear the wind associated with the dust devil, the moment it arrives, then nothing because we are in the eye of the vortex," said Murdoch.
The sound then reemerges "when the microphone passes through the second wall" of the dust devil, she said, adding that the "tac tac tac" sounds will let experts count the number of particles to study the whirlwind's structure and behavior.
It could also assist experts in understanding why on some parts of Mars, "whirlwinds pass by sucking up dust, cleaning the solar panels of rovers along the way," whereas in other parts of Mars, "they're just moving air," without kicking away much sand, Murdoch said.
For instance, NASA's InSight lander's solar panels are covered in dust due to the rover being located at a location where it does not benefit from these whirlwinds.
So tracking devil dusts could help scientists predict where the whirlwinds might strike next.
Read more: Perseverance rover confirms organic matter in Mars: NASA
