The Perseverance rover was able to record the sound of a “dust demon” – one of many great dust vortices on the Red Planet. This happened on September 27, 2021, but the audio recording (compatible with video recording) has only been released now.

To make such a recording, the scientists needed an accurate calculation and a bit of luck: Since Perseverance only took less than three minutes and captured sound only eight times a month, experts had to guess at the most likely time and place. Dust devil”. They were lucky this time – they managed to capture it on camera (this is not the first time) and managed to record it on a microphone. According to scientists, the recorded vortex was 25 meters wide and 118 meters high, but did not harm the rover (and is considered relatively small).

In video recording, the average person hears nothing different from the usual wind breath on Earth, but for scientists, this audio recording is very useful. Experts were able to hear the individual effects of dust grains on the rover and count them, which will help to better understand dust on Mars. This is important because it greatly complicates missions on the Red Planet: dust can destroy spacecraft’s heat shields, damage scientific instruments, disable parachutes, or clog solar cells.