Projects: Planetary Microphones
Project Updates
September 18, 2008: Phoenix Mission Receives OK to Listen for Sounds on
Mars
We may soon hear the first sounds from Mars. Last night, NASA gave the
go-ahead to the Phoenix mission to power on the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI)
for the first time. MARDI, which was built by Malin Space Science Systems,
is equipped with a tiny microphone that could have recorded sounds from Phoenix'
landing, and may now be in a position to return the first sounds from the
surface of Mars. More »
June 2004: Netlander Mission Cancelled; Mars
Microphone Is Looking for a Ride
Due to funding difficulties within the French space agency, CNES, the Netlander
mission has been officially cancelled, and with it the opportunity to give the
Mars Microphone a second chance to record sounds on the red planet. Interest
from NASA and other institutions remains high, however, and several other potential
future mission opportunities for the Mars Microphone are being explored.
April 11, 2001: Mars Microphone Selected
to Fly on the French Netlander Mission
In 2007 the French Netlander mission is scheduled to deploy a network of 4 identical
landers to study the atmosphere and interior structure of Mars. Onboard each
Netlander craft will be upgraded versions of the Mars Microphone sensors placed
on the panoramic camera head, enabling stereo recordings of the Martian sounds
from a height of about 1 meter above the surface.
October 18, 1999: Mars Microphone Ready for
Duty
Mars Polar Lander is nearing Mars for its scheduled December 3 arrival. A trajectory
correction maneuver will be applied this week to target it for the final
selected landing site on Mars (76 degrees south latitude, 195 degrees west
longitude). Following the loss of Mars Climate Orbiter due to a navigation
error, this maneuver and all the project navigation is being watched closely.
The Planetary Society's Mars Microphone is on board the lander, and as far
as we can tell, in good shape. More »
February 6, 1998: Latest Round of Mars Microphone
Tests Successful
The Mars Microphone has successfully gone through its latest round of testing
in preparation for launch on the Mars Surveyor spacecraft in January 1999.
Engineers in Denver, Colorado tested the entire system of the microphone that
is part of the Russian LIDAR instrument, expected to reach the Red Planet in
1999. More »
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