A space lander on the surface of Mars has managed to pick up audio of “marsquakes” and other sounds from millions of miles away from Earth.
Scientists released recordings of the marsquakes Tuesday, which had to be enhanced to make the low rumblings audible. The sounds were picked up by the InSight lander, which has recorded 21 strong candidates for marsquakes, according to the Associated Press.
InSight’s seismometer has picked up more than 100 events in total. Other than the 21 strong marsquake candidates, the other sounds could be more marsquakes or something else entirely. The seismometer aboard the craft is so finely attuned that it can record the sound of Martian wind and movements by InSight’s robot arm. Scientists are referring to other mechanical noises it has picked up as “dinks and donks.”
Imperial College of London’s Constantinos Charalambous helped release the audio recordings and said they help create an audio image of what is happening during the InSight’s exploration.
“It’s been exciting, especially in the beginning, hearing the first vibrations from the lander,” Charalambous said.
“You’re imagining what’s really happening on Mars as InSight sits on the open landscape,” he added in a statement.
InSight landed on the red planet in November of last year and began picking up its first audio of the low rumbling in April. Scientists had planned to use a drilling instrument to bore 16 feet into the Martian surface, but because of issues with the planet’s sand, it has only been able to dig about a foot into the terrain.
