Sounds of Mars
(Choose Your Playlist)Ever wonder how you would sound on Mars? Grab your headsets, turn up the volume and listen for the subtle differences between the sounds on Earth versus how they would sound on the Red Planet. Tune in to watch the Perseverance rover land on Mars Feb. 18, 2021. Then come back to hear how our version matched up with the real sounds of Mars, as captured by two microphones onboard.
The Science of Sound on Mars
The Perseverance rover carries two microphones, letting us directly record the sounds of Mars for the very first time. One, an experimental mic, may capture the landing itself. The other mic is for science. Both mics may even capture the sounds the rover makes.
Even though Earth and Mars are entirely different planets, it may be comforting to know that if you were on Mars, you might still sound pretty much like yourself. If you were standing on Mars, you’d hear a quieter, more muffled version of what you’d hear on Earth, and you’d wait slightly longer to hear it. On Mars, the atmosphere is entirely different. But, the biggest change to audio would be to high-pitch sounds, higher than most voices. Some sounds that we’re used to on Earth, like whistles, bells or bird songs, would almost be inaudible on Mars.
How does sound work?
When we hear sound, what we’re really experiencing is our eardrums vibrating. That vibration comes from waves of pressure that travel to our ears from the source of the sound. To get to our ears, the waves need something to travel through, like air. Sound waves can travel through liquids and even solids, but most of what we hear comes through the air.
What’s different about Mars?
Mars has an unusual atmosphere compared to Earth, with very different temperature, density, and chemistry. These differences would have three main effects on the sound you’d hear:
Speed of Sound
Sounds emitted in the cold Martian atmosphere would take slightly longer to get to your ear. With an average surface temperature around -81 F (-63 C), Mars has a lower speed of sound, around 540 mph (~240 meters per second), compared to about 760 mph (~340 meters per second) on Earth. You probably wouldn’t notice up close, but over longer distances you might.
Volume
The sound level you’d hear would be automatically lower on Mars. The Martian atmosphere is about 100 times less dense than on Earth — that is, there’s just a lot less of it. That affects how sound waves travel from the source to the detector, resulting in a softer signal. On Mars you’d have to be much closer to the source of a sound to hear it at the same volume as you would on Earth.
Sound Quality
The atmosphere of Mars, made up of 96 percent carbon dioxide, would absorb a lot of higher-pitched sounds, so only lower-pitched sounds would travel long distances. This effect is known as attenuation — a weakening of the signal at certain frequencies — and it would be more noticeable the farther you were from the source.
Put together, these three impacts would change how you would sound in the atmosphere of Mars. Of course, if you found yourself on Mars, you’d have a spacesuit on. Not only would it help with clear radio communication, but you’d be able to breathe as well!
What does Mars actually sound like?
Stay tuned! We may soon hear the sounds of another world. NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover carries two microphones onboard. These will be the first microphones to operate on the surface of Mars.
The SuperCam microphone, highlighted in blue, at the top of the rover’s mast. Explore in 3D ›
Mic for Science
One microphone is part of the SuperCam instrument, on top of the rover’s mast. SuperCam fires a laser at distant rock targets to help determine what they’re made of. Scientists may hear the sounds of the laser hitting a rock target. Based on the sounds of that laser pop, they may get more information about the rock hardness, mass and type. This mic may also be able to listen to sounds of Martian wind and of the rover moving, for a couple of minutes at a time.
The EDL microphone, highlighted in blue, attached to the left side of the rover. Explore in 3D ›
Mic to Record Landing
The team added an additional experimental, off-the-shelf commercial microphone to the side of the rover, to record the sounds of Entry, Descent, and Landing. With it, engineers may gather more information about this truly turbulent part of the rover’s trip to Mars. If it continues to work after landing, it could give us a second “ear” to listen to the sounds of Mars.
About this Experience
This experience was created with the Perseverance mission team to approximate how sounds would be different in the atmosphere of Mars. Scientists on the SuperCam microphone took into account the three key variables of atmospheric temperature, density and chemistry to generate these sounds, with a simulated distance of about 492 feet (150 meters) between the audio source and the listener. The SuperCam team is made up of scientists and engineers from the U.S. and France, as well as additional scientists in Spain, Canada, Denmark, and Germany.