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When NASA’s New Rover Lands, Its Other Lander Will Listen for the Impact – Futurism

Posted: February 15, 2021 at 2:53 am

If a rover lands on Mars, and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?A New Visitor

After a seven month journey through the solar system, NASAs Perseverance rover is set to weather the infamous Seven Minutes of Terror as it makes its entry, descent, and landing on Mars next week.

When it gets there, it wont be alone. Already waiting on the Red Planets surface will be NASAs InSight probe. In fact, InSight will attempt to hear Perseverance land, Universe Today reports. Its specialized instruments are sensitive enough, at least in theory, to pick up the descent sound and impact Perseverancewill make when touching down.

According to the InSights team at NASA, the landing is a rare event that offers a special opportunity to test the landers seismometers, since we know exactly when Perseverance will land.

InSight has already detected hundreds of marsquakes during its two year stay on Mars. It hasnt, however, had the chance to record a more substantial impact event from a meteorite.

The landing is a long way away, so the most important thing that will determine whether we hear anything is how noisy it is on the day, InSight team member Ben Fernando told Universe Today.

In addition to listening to Perseverance making impact with the ground just over 2,000 miles away, InSight will also attempt to detect the sonic boom created by the capsule plummeting through the thin Martian atmosphere.

According to Fernando and his teams preprint outlining the experiment, the researchers arent sure the sound will travel far enough.But a detection of a seismic event created by InSights impact with the ground is a distinct possibility,and would be of enormous scientific value, the paper reads.

And poetically, the project symbolizes the fact that no future visitor to Mars to will truly be alone.

READ MORE: InSight is Going to Try and Hear Perseverance Land on Mars From 3,452 km Away [Universe Today]

More on Perseverance: A Guy Who Drives NASAs Mars Rover Is Dishing About the Experience

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When NASA's New Rover Lands, Its Other Lander Will Listen for the Impact - Futurism

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