Out of this world: Listen to Perseverance rover fire its laser at Mars rocks as the wind whips around it

NASA released this week the first audio recordings captured by its six-wheeled nuclear-powered rover Perseverance in action, zapping rock samples as the Martian wind eerily whispers in the background.. The trundlebot left terra firma in July, and landed on the Red Planet last month. Since then, engineers have uploaded …

[Chris G]

Whispers in the wind

What an amazing thing to be able to see and hear actions on the surface of another planet in as close to real time as it gets.

I can't help thinking though, that before too long one of the UFOlogist loonies will post on YouTube with proof of an alien whispering into Perseverance's mic.

Or perhap Elvis singing to it.

[b0llchit]

Re: Whispers in the wind

Jailhouse rock?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Whispers in the wind

I think All Shook Up would be more appropriate.

But the idea is silly. Everyone knows Elvis is running his bar and grill, The Domain of The King, on the planet of Perfectly Normal Beasts.

[WereWoof]

Re: Whispers in the wind

Bowie - Life on Mars.

[stuartnz]

Re: Whispers in the wind

Or perhaps, a soft, plaintive lament "the chances of anything coming TO Mars, are a million to one, they said..."

[slimshady76]

Re: Whispers in the wind

I'd be more concerned about the flat earthers going out and recording wind with their phones to prove Perseverance is just wondering on some lost Arizona desert patch.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing there...

Clicks and pics of rocks.. Meh...

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Re: Nothing there...

Look, we get it: you have no sense of wonder. You don't have to keep demonstrating the fact.

[Filippo]

Re: Nothing there...

And yet, you felt compelled to comment. Makes you wonder.

[Tom 7]

Vinyl

Some Martian fell asleep while listening to their fave album.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Obligatory

Pew pew pew!

[Haynomonous]

Obligatory Doctor Evil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxtxn3H1g60

It is really rather amazing to hear sounds recorded on another planet, though.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing there...

Even if they sound the same as if they'd been made on this one.

[werdsmith]

Re: Nothing there...

Even if they sound the same as if they'd been made on this one.

You really are missing something absolutely amazing and it’s very much your loss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Obligatory Doctor Evil

But did they? I have seen some very reliable documentaries about space battles from the 1970 and 80s where the sound of lasers and explosions are nothing like those audio clips. May I be the first to claim that this is a possible fake? Next they will be claiming that Hugo Drax never had a base on the Moon!

[Anonymous Coward]

"It’s incredible to think that we’re going to do science with the first sounds ever recorded on the surface of Mars.”

I know it's a minor niggle, but "do science" sounds like something a 4th-Grade teacher would say while on a field-trip, not something said by an actual scientist.

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Bah!

Don't tell that to Kimiko Ross.

[werdsmith]

A French scientist speaking not in his first language but probably one of the other languages that he can communicate fluently in. I think he’s doing fine.

[Anonymous Coward]

OK. So, eh, the French "do science" regularly? It's been too long since I studied french. Perhaps that is a common construct over there.

[heyrick]

Would it have been better if he had said "It's incredible to think that we're going to science the shit out of Mars"?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, that would have been much worse and would be a valid reason to face the firing squad. Perhaps if he had said "do some science experiments" or, better yet, "perform some science experiments".

[itzman]

The adjective derived from science...

is 'scientific'

[heyrick]

@ AC - Whoooosh!

[RM Myers]

Someone needs to reread their copy of

"How to Make Friends and Influence People Martians".

[Paul Herber]

Re: Someone needs to reread their copy of

Martians are People, too!

[Empire of the Pussycat]

NASA should've designed the zapper to have a better noise (even if fake)

(body)

[Anonymous Coward]

"Linux-powered helicopter".

Yes, Linux won. Sorry Balmer. Well done Linus.

[Anonymous Coward]

Only because there wasn't a Snap Dragon BSP available for VxWorks :-(

[JanMeijer]

Finally humanity puts a laser on Mars, and ALL IT DOES IS CLICK CLICK?!? How do they know it's working??

[The Oncoming Scorn]

When a Martian war machine knocks on mission controls front door asking for advice on the common cold.

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe that the sound actually provides information relating to rock density, so it does have a purpose.

A scientist explained it as the difference between chalk and marble. They have near-identical chemical compositions, but obviously marble is much harder than chalk. The clicks can help compare the relative hardnesses/densities of the target.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Reggie Perrin - Grot Silent LPs

We Aren’t The Champions

You’ll Always Walk Alone

Songs From A Trappist Monastery

Yes the wind on Mars was pretty awesome to hear, the laser clicks... not so much, pint's though to all concerned.

[Anonymous Coward]

Quote of the week....

“This is the first time an instrument has used Raman spectroscopy anywhere other than on Earth,”

Well, I can fully believe that. Have there been any other opportunities to use one anywhere other than Earth?

On the other hand, how can we be sure that an alien culture has not used one somewhere else in the universe?

[werdsmith]

Re: Quote of the week....

These kind of dried noodles are not ideal for spaceflight, due to the hot water.

[tonique]

Re: Quote of the week....

If aliens have discovered Raman spectrocsopy, they wouldn't call it Raman spectroscopy but whatever the name of the inventor is on their planet.

[NanoMeter]

Science Fiction fact

Won't come closer to Star Wars than this.

[Eclectic Man]

Awesome

Just awesome. Can hardly wait for the drone flight.

Although I still remember being in awe of looking at pictures of the lakes on Saturn's moon Titan.

[Eclectic Man]

APOD reference

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210313.html

"Explanation: What's the sound of one laser zapping? There's no need to consult a Zen master to find out, just listen to the first acoustic recording of laser shots on Mars. On Perseverance mission sol 12 (March 2) the SuperCam instrument atop the rover's mast zapped a rock dubbed Ma'az 30 times from a range of about 3.1 meters. Its microphone recorded the soft staccato popping sounds of the rapid series of SuperCam laser zaps. Shockwaves created in the thin martian atmosphere as bits of rock are vaporized by the laser shots make the popping sounds, sounds that offer clues to the physical structure of the target. This SuperCam close-up of the Ma'az target region is 6 centimeters (2.3 inches) across. Ma'az means Mars in the Navajo language."

[Alumoi]

Damn it, I'm a goner now. I have my name on the probe that fired a freaking direct energy weapon on Martian soil. Better hide, now I'm on their most wanted list.