NASA's newest Mars rover has sent back the first-ever recording of driving on the Red Planet and it features a mysterious \"scratching\" noise that's left scientists baffled.<\/p>\n
The audio clip also includes the eerie sound of grinding, clanking and banging that by Earth standards would be pretty worrisome.<\/p>\n
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The noises made by Perseverance's six metal wheels and suspension on the first test drive two weeks ago are part of a 16-minute raw audio feed released Wednesday by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n
\"If I heard these sounds driving my car, I'd pull over and call for a tow,\" Dave Gruel, an engineer on the rover team, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"But if you take a minute to consider what you're hearing and where it was recorded, it makes perfect sense.\"<\/p>\n
The driving audio contains an unexpected high-pitched scratching noise, according to Nasa. Engineers are trying to figure out what the sound is.<\/p>\n
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Perseverance the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent to Mars landed near an ancient river delta on February 18 to search for signs of past life.<\/p>\n
Samples will be taken from the most promising rocks for eventual return to Earth.<\/p>\n
The rover carries two microphones.<\/p>\n
One already has captured the sounds of wind and rock-zapping lasers, the other was meant to record the descent and landing.<\/p>\n
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This second mike didn't pick up any sounds of the rover's arrival at Mars, but managed to record the first test drive March 4.<\/p>\n
Before it starts drilling into rocks for core samples, Perseverance will drop off an experimental tag-along helicopter, named Ingenuity.<\/p>\n
The helicopter will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet sometime next month.<\/p>\n
Perseverance's microphones are stashed on its SuperCam instrument, which sits atop the rover's remote sensing mast.<\/p>\n
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Over the course of the two-year mission, scientists hope to use the rover's audio recordings to analyse Martian rock and soil.<\/p>\n
The six-wheeled machine is equipped with a laser that can hit targets up to 20ft (7m) away.<\/p>\n
Some zaps sound slightly louder than others, providing information on the physical structure of the targets, such as its relative hardness.<\/p>\n
SuperCam was developed jointly by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and a consortium of French research laboratories.<\/p>\n
Perseverance - What's on board?<\/p>\n
Perseverance boasts a total of 19 cameras and two microphones, and carries seven scientific instruments.<\/p>\n
An X-ray ray gun that will help scientists investigate the composition of Martian rock.<\/p>\n
2. Radar Imager for Mars' subsurface experiment (RIMFAX)<\/p>\n
A ground-penetrating radar that will image buried rocks, meteorites, and even possible underground water sources up to a depth of 10 metres (33ft).<\/p>\n
3. Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA)<\/p>\n
A bunch of sensors that will take readings of temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, and other atmospheric conditions.<\/p>\n
4. Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)<\/p>\n
An experiment that will convert Martian carbon dioxide into oxygen. A scaled-up version could be used in future to provide Martian colonists with breathable air.<\/p>\n
5. SuperCam<\/p>\n
A suite of instruments for measuring the makeup of rocks and regolith at a distance<\/p>\n
6. Mastcam-Z<\/p>\n
A camera system capable of taking 3D images by combining two or more photos into one.<\/p>\n
7. Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC)<\/p>\n
From Baker Street to Mars: Sherloc contains an ultraviolet laser that will investigate Martian rock for organic compounds.<\/p>\n
The instrument delivers data to the French Space Agencys operations centre in Toulouse.<\/p>\n
Speaking earlier this month following the recovery of Perseverance's first audio recordings, Naomi Murdoch, a researcher at the ISAE-SUPAERO aerospace engineering school in Toulouse, could barely contain her excitement.<\/p>\n
\"The sounds acquired are remarkable quality,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Its incredible to think that were going to do science with the first sounds ever recorded on the surface of Mars.\"<\/p>\n
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In other news, water that once flowed over the surface of Mars is now trapped within its crust, a Nasa-funded study revealed this week.<\/p>\n
Nasahas announcedthat it is accepting applications for wannabe space explorers who wish to fire their names to theRed Planet.<\/p>\n
And,Perseverance revealed stunningvideo and audio recordingsfrom the surface of the Red Planet last month.<\/p>\n
What do you make of the rover video? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n See the article here:<\/p>\n Nasa releases first recording of rover DRIVING on Mars but mystery noise leaves them baffled... - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NASA's newest Mars rover has sent back the first-ever recording of driving on the Red Planet and it features a mysterious \"scratching\" noise that's left scientists baffled. The audio clip also includes the eerie sound of grinding, clanking and banging that by Earth standards would be pretty worrisome. 5 The noises made by Perseverance's six metal wheels and suspension on the first test drive two weeks ago are part of a 16-minute raw audio feed released Wednesday by Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Continue reading