Sound recording of creativity on the surface of Mars for the first time

For the first time, NASA released a recording of the sound of the Ingenity helicopter during its fourth flight on the surface of Mars on Friday. Recorded by NASA’s Persevering rover. It is the first time that a spacecraft on another planet has been able to record sound from a separate spacecraft.

However, the helicopter could not be heard very well, as Perseverance snapped the photo from about 80 meters away. Additionally, Mars’ thin atmosphere and winds create a muffled sound. But even the little that can be heard “is a gold mine for a better understanding of the Martian atmosphere,” say the scientists.

The 1.8 kg heavyweight aircraft also successfully completed a fifth flight on Friday. It was the first one-way flight of a small helicopter, and thus did not return to the starting point.

For the Mars helicopter, which was on a NASA rover, the conditions on Mars are extreme. The rotors would have to do more than 2,500 revolutions per minute through the loosened atmosphere, roughly 1 percent of that on the ground, for altitude off the ground. Additionally, solar energy is lower and batteries suffer from low temperatures at night, as the mercury can drop to minus 90 degrees.