"Hearing the first sounds ever recorded on the surface of another planet is a privilege. We have a great team, and we're doing incredible things every day at NASA," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said.
InSight landed on Mars November 26 after seven months and 300 million miles en route. It will explore the planet's deep interior and analyze seismic activity or "marsquakes."
An upcoming mission, the Mars 2020 rover, will have two microphones on board for clearer sound recording.
NASA has tried unsuccessfully to listen to Mars in the past, Space.com notes. NASA's Mars Polar Lander was carrying a microphone when it crashed into Mars in 1999. The Phoenix Lander did successfully land with a microphone in 2008, but controllers were unable to turn on the microphone because of fears that they would short out the landing system.
