Perseverance caught the roar of the Ingenuity propellers on audio
NASA’s team has published a new audio recorded of the Ingenuity obtained by the Perseverance rover on Mars.
The sound was caught using onboard microphones of the rover during the Marscopter fourth experimental flight, according to the NASA website.
Perseverance became the first spacecraft on Mars to actively use microphones during planetary exploration.
Similar devices were part of two probes before, but the Mars Polar Lander crashed, and the Phoenix had problems with electronics.
In total, there are two microphones on board Perseverance: one in the SuperCam instrument, and the other mounted on the side of the rover.
Both mics previously recorded the laser clicks on the rocks and the sounds of the rover driving.
After the start of the flights of the Ingenuity, experts wanted to try to record the sounds of its propellers, but were not sure that the rover, located 80 meters away, would be able to pick up the sound.
However, they still managed to do this using the microphone of the SuperCam device when the drone made its fourth flight on April 30, 2021.
The audio recording was processed in order to highlight the sounds of the propellers at a frequency of 84 hertz against the background of ambient sounds (mainly wind noise).
The sounds with other frequencies were cut off or muted.
The drone hum is most clearly heard when it is in the field of view of the rover's camera tracking the flight.
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