NASA, May 8: First came the amazing pictures, then the video of the Mars helicopter. Now NASA is sharing sounds of its little helicopter humming through the thin Martian air.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California released its first-ever audio on Friday, just before Ingenuity was set to soar on its fifth test flight.
Excelsior! The #MarsHelicopter completed its 1st one-way trip and 5th flight on Mars. It touched down at its new location, kicking off a new demo phase where we test this new tech and see how it can aid future missions on Mars and other worlds. https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/YwxIjupbQI
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) May 8, 2021
The low hum from the helicopter blades by NASA in Mars spinning at more than 2,500 revolutions per minute is barely audible. It almost sounds like a low-pitched, far-away mosquito or another flying insect.
That’s because the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) helicopter was more than 260 feet (80 meters) from the microphone on the Perseverance rover. The rumbling wind gusts also obscured the chopper’s sound.
Scientists isolated the sound of the whirring blades and magnified it, making it easier to hear.
Listen closely👂
The microphone on @NASAPersevere's SuperCam caught sound during #MarsHelicopter’s 4th flight. The rumbling is Martian wind, but those rhythmic hums come from Ingenuity. Scientists made it easier to hear by isolating the 84 Hz blade sound. https://t.co/uua5h40BPL pic.twitter.com/fGWlMRpVji— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) May 7, 2021
The sound was recorded during the helicopter’s fourth test flight on April 30.
Ingenuity — the first powered aircraft to fly at another planet — arrived at Mars on Feb. 18, clinging to Perseverance’s belly. Its first flight was April 19; NASA named the takeoff and landing area Wright Brothers Field in honour of Wilbur and Orrville, who made the world’s first aeroplane flights in 1903. A stamp-size piece of wing fabric from the original Wright Flyer is aboard Ingenuity.
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The $85 million tech demo was supposed to end a few days ago, but NASA extended the mission by at least a month to get more flying time.
Friday afternoon’s test flight was aiming for twice the altitude — as high as 33 feet (10 meters). The helicopter was also headed to a new touchdown spot.
With the helicopter’s first phase complete, the rover can now start hunting for rocks that might contain signs of past microscopic life. Core samples will be collected for eventual return to Earth.
