The Perseverance rover just recorded the Martian wind

"It's overwhelming, if you will."
 By 
Mark Kaufman
 on 
The Perseverance rover just recorded the Martian wind
The Skycrane lowering the Perservence rover to the Martian surface. Credit: nasa

The whoosh of the Martian wind is eerie.

NASA's recently-landed Perservance rover is the first rover to record sound on Mars, and the space agency released the car-sized robot's first recordings on Monday.

It's also the first time Martian sound has been recorded with a real microphone (NASA's InSight lander previously picked up some brief audio using a weather-monitoring instrument). To hear these new rover recordings, NASA recommends using headphones. At about six seconds into the short clip, you hear a wind gust on Mars, recorded on Feb. 20, 2021.


You May Also Like

"We have recorded sounds from the surface of Mars," David Gruel, the mission's Entry, Descent, and Landing Camera Suite Lead, said at a press conference on Monday.

Listen below via SoundCloud.

And here's the 20-second clip from NASA's website. If you click on "Download Audio" you can also see the option to hear an unfiltered version of the recording, with the hum of the rover still in the background.

The Perseverance rover is equipped with two microphones, one atop the rover's mast (which hasn't been lifted yet) and one on the side of the robot. This first recording came from the microphone on the rover's side.

In the coming weeks, months, and years, the microphones will record wind, dust storms, and the rover zapping rocks with a laser.

"We think we'll hear Earth-like sounds on a planet that’s tens of millions of miles away," Bruce Betts, a planetary scientist at The Planetary Society, an organization that promotes the exploration of space, told Mashable last year.

Sounds on Mars, however, are a little different than sounds on Earth. As Mashable previously reported:

Anything recorded on Mars will sound differently than the same noise would on Earth. That's because the Martian atmosphere is much thinner than Earth's, and it's also composed largely of a different gas, carbon dioxide. (Earth's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen.) A thinner atmosphere means sound has less of a medium to pass through (space and the moon, places with no atmosphere, are soundless). So Martian sounds will be quieter and won't travel nearly as far as those on Earth. A scream on Earth traveling over a kilometer would journey only some 16 yards on Mars.

The mission has just begun. There's many more extraterrestrial, far-off Martian sounds to come.

"It's overwhelming, if you will," said NASA's Gruel.

Mashable Image
Mark Kaufman
Science Editor

Mark was the science editor at Mashable. After working as a ranger with the National Park Service, he started a reporting career after seeing the extraordinary value in educating people about the happenings on Earth, and beyond.

He's descended 2,500 feet into the ocean depths in search of the sixgill shark, ventured into the halls of top R&D laboratories, and interviewed some of the most fascinating scientists in the world.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You

NASA's Curiosity rover is doing an incredibly rare experiment on Mars
Curiosity looking in an intriguing drill hole at night

'Project Hail Mary' review: Ryan Gosling delights in a sci-fi buddy comedy
Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace in "Project Hail Mary."

I've sucked at sleeping for a decade. The Hatch Restore 3 makes bedtime feel less chaotic, but it's not a cure-all.
Hatch Restore 3 alarm clock glowing purple showing 12:59 on clock, sitting on nightstand near plant and lamp


More in Science
How to watch Chelsea vs. Port Vale online for free
Alejandro Garnacho of Chelsea reacts

How to watch 'Wuthering Heights' at home: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's controversial romance now streaming
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi embracing in still from "Wuthering Heights"

How to watch New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers online for free
Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders warms up

How to watch Mexico vs. Belgium online for free
Israel Reyes of Mexico reacts

How to watch Brazil vs. Croatia online for free
Vinicius Junior #10 of Brazil leaves

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

What's new to streaming this week? (April 3, 2026)
A composite of images from film and TV streaming this week.


NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 2, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone
The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!