Sound From Mars Heard For First Time On Earth

PASADENA (CBS News/CBS Local) — Was there ever life on Mars? Maybe. Is there sound? Definitely. On Friday, NASA released audio of the Martian wind, the first time sound has been recorded on another planet's surface.

NASA's InSight Mars lander, which touched down on the red planet last week, captured a bassy vibrating rumble deflecting off the lander's 7-foot solar panels.

Scientists estimated the northwest wind to be 10-15 mph. An air pressure sensor and seismometer detected the vibrations on December 1.

"Capturing this audio was an unplanned treat," Bruce Banerdt, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a press release. "But one of the things [the InSight mission] is dedicated to is measuring motion on Mars, and naturally that includes motion caused by sound waves."

The raw recording is a low pitched, barely audible purr.  When it's cranked up two octaves, it sounds like a stiff breeze ricocheting off the walls of an alley on a windy day.

In:
• Mars
• InstaStory