IFLScience By DR. ALFREDO CARPINETI
Weather monitoring on other planets now comes with sound.
Dust devils are a common feature seen in many locations across Mars by the robotic explorers we have sent there. They have been extensively photographed but now, for the first time, we also know what they sound like. Thanks to the SuperCam microphones onboard NASAâs Perseverance scientists were able to record a dust devil as it engulfed the rover.
âWe’ve been able to record for the first time ever, the sounds of dust devil coming over the rover, the first Martian dust devilâs sounds,â lead author Dr Naomi Murdoch, from the UniversitĂ© de Toulouse, told IFLScience. âWe had not only the sound but also all of the meteorology sensors on and we also had the cameras on. We were able to put that all together, and we were able to characterize really well this vortex.â
The team determined that the vortex was at least 25 meters across (82 feet), about 10 times the size of the rover, and at least 118 meters (387 feet) tall. Luckily, the Martian atmosphere is just 1 percent the density of Earthâs so the wind pressure from the dust devil was not damaging to Perseverance and instead just rolled over it.
