Mars rover Perseverance makes first sound recording of Martian dust devil

Mars rover Perseverance has made the first sound recording of a dust devil on the red planet. This weather phenomenon, which also occurs on Earth, has been seen on Mars before, but its sound has never been recorded before.

The recording was made with the SuperCam Microphone, one of Perseverance’s two microphones. The microphone used is part of the mast and the SuperCam instrument. During the recording of the sound, the navigation camera shot images, while the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer detected the drop in pressure. The audio recording also includes fragments of dust particles hitting the rover.

Dust devils are not very special to Mars in themselves. They have been seen from space before and almost every Mars rover has encountered them during operations on the red planet. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers have even benefited greatly from it. They were able to extend their lifespan by several years because dust devils occasionally ‘swept’ their solar panels, so that sufficient electricity could be generated again.