![]() "We always hoped that we would be able to record the sounds of a Martian dust devil, but we knew that the chances were slim," she said. Maximum wind speeds peaked at 25 mph, and it traveled around 12 mph. The vortex reached 387 feet high with a diameter of 82 feet. The team determined that the storm was 10 times the rover's size. 10, 2021, the 198th Martian day, or sol of the mission. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie over a rock nicknamed "Rochette," on Sept. ![]() SAMPLES FROM PERSEVERANCE'S MISSION ON MARS WON'T REACH EARTH UNTIL AT LEAST 2033 "In the audio, we can hear two periods of the low-frequency wind as the dust devil leading and trailing walls pass over the rover, with a very calm period in between when the rover is right in the eye of the vortex," Murdoch interpreted the audio recording mapped above. The team verified that they caught the dust devil when weather instruments measured a drop in atmospheric pressure and a change in wind direction, which coincided with the sound recording and enhanced video. "However, current models of global Martian dust storms fail to correctly capture dust storm activity." The cycle of dust in the sky on Mars: lifting, transport and settling actually forms a similar role to the water cycle on Earth, affecting the overall weather systems," explained Murdoch. "Dust plays a vital role in the overall Martian atmosphere. In other areas of Mars, like the landing site of the NASA InSight mission, the dust rarely lifts, Murdoch said. Right now, it is still a mystery as to why dust lifts so easily at Jezero. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used one of its navigation cameras to capture these dust devils swirling across Jezero Crater on July 20, 2021. NASA'S MARS PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS DIVERSITY, HINTS OF MICROBIAL LIFE IN ANCIENT LAKE BED ROCKS The unit in the Jezero Crater captured dust devils on camera and winds on the microphone but never a dust devil direct hit. The rover landed on the red planet in February 2021 with the SuperCam microphone after a July 2020 launch. "We have been surprised in the past at just how much dust is lofted easily into the air by the wind and by dust devils," she said." Despite the very low-density Martian atmosphere, surface pressure is around 150 times lower than on Earth, the wind at Jezero is very efficient at picking up and moving Martian dust." Already, dust aloft damaged Perseverance's wind sensors.įATE OF SEISMIC AND WEATHER MONITORING ON MARS DEPENDS ON DUST DEVIL She continued, "Understanding dust lifting is critical for space missions on Mars."ĭust lifting, especially of larger particles in a dust devil or just by wind, damages equipment. "With this microphone recording, we have demonstrated that sound recordings can be used to directly observe dust transport, a key element of improving our understanding of dust lifting and dust storms." "This is a completely new measurement on Mars," said Murdoch. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
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