As part of international efforts to grasp what’s happening on Mars, scientists concluded that the speed of sound shows a dramatic alteration on the Red Planet.
Spacecraft have been helping us examine other planets for over 50 years. Perseverance, the first-ever spacecraft with the SuperCam microphone in it, allows scientists to have more information concerning Mars while listening to the records obtained there. Ever since the scientists have received the sounds from the rover, it became extremely valuable data for them.
In the 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Baptise Chide, a planetary scientist from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, stated that the information they received from the rover’s microphone has been getting used for the studies about the speed of sound. Also, he mentioned that the speed of sound could get affected by the surroundings.
Acoustic propagation path on Mars
“The speed of sound retrieved by this technique is computed over the entire acoustic propagation path, which goes from the ground to the height of the microphone,” pointed out the scientists in the conference notes.
“Therefore, at any given wavelength it is convoluted by the variations of temperature and wind speed and direction along this path”.
We know from NASA’s Journey to Mars that the US-based space agency plans to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. So understanding Mars in all its aspects is of vital importance in terms of establishing colonies there.
The results, in this context, support the estimation regarding the travel of sound near the surface of Red Planet at approximately 864 kilometers per hour. Changing sounds are also a warning beep for Martians who could face communication difficulty stemming from potential unbidden effects caused by the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
Alteration in the speed of sound
“Due to the unique properties of the carbon dioxide molecules at low pressure, Mars is the only terrestrial-planet atmosphere in the Solar System experiencing a change in speed of sound right in the middle of the audible bandwidth (20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz),” they reported on the paper.
When comparing the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, Mars has a thinner one. Sounds sprawl more differently on Mars. However, the Planetary Boundry Layer, which is an atmospheric layer that is directly above the surface, makes this process harder.
Due to the heating of the surface during the daytime on the Red Planet, it affects the convective updraft that causes strong turbulence.
All the data will for sure help astronauts during their possible visit to the Red Planet in the future.
