Mars 2020 mission: the French Supercam instrument records the sound of the 4th Ingenuity flight!

7 May 2021

On May 1, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover’s French-American instrument, SuperCam, recorded the sounds of the Ingenuity helicopter for the first time on Mars during its 4th flight over Jezero Crater. Located 80 meters from the rover at liftoff, the small helicopter rose 5 meters above the ground before flying 133 meters and then returning to land where it took off. SuperCam’s scientific microphone, developed jointly by ISAE-SUPAERO and a consortium of CNRS laboratories (including IRAP) and its partners, coordinated by CNES, recorded the sound emitted by the rotation of the Martian drone’s blades during its flight. This sound has a characteristic frequency of 84 Hz; it is equivalent to the low “E” of a piano or the bass voice of a human being.

*Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter on its first flight over Mars on April 19, 2021. Copyright NASA/JPL*

A tweet posted by @NASAPersevere :

I’ve seen what the #MarsHelicopter can do – and now I’ve heard it.

🎧 Grab headphones and listen to the otherworldly hum of Ingenuity’s blades as it headed south to scout a new area on its fourth flight.

How I captured both sight and sound: https://t.co/95J9X3bcyO pic.twitter.com/Lw44x7kqYZ
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) May 7, 2021

IRAP Contact

Baptiste Chide, Baptiste.Chide@irap.omp.eu

IRAP Contact

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