# Does The Mars Probe Have a Microphone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769 "2012-08-17T12:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/1 "2012-08-17T12:51:19Z")
I’m curios to hear the sound of wind on Mars-does the new probe carry one? I couldn’t find any info at the NASA site. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/2 "2012-08-17T15:23:07Z")
Apparently not. The [Mars Polar Lander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander) had one, but it didn’t land successfully. The [Phoenix Lander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_%28spacecraft%29) also had one, but because of technical problems the microphone was never used. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/3 "2012-08-17T16:34:02Z")
I wish they would try one again. Make a hell of a ring tone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![namatad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@namatad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/namatad)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/4 "2012-08-17T21:57:09Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I’m curios to hear the sound of wind on Mars-does the new probe carry one? > I couldn’t find any info at the NASA site. AWESOME questions and terrible oversight on NASA’s part. The weight cost would have been trivia compared to the useful information that it could have provided. The sound of the wheels going over different terrain. The change in sounds of the probes normal activity. “That arm sounds like it is grinding again.” Plus awesome “wind from mars” ring tone! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/5 "2012-08-17T22:27:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Does The Mars Probe Have a Microphone? No, but it _does have_ a Mister Microphone. And Curiosity enjoys itself every Friday Night at the pub. Fridays are Karaoke Night! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/6 "2012-08-18T01:29:34Z")
It would only be worth it if you could hear in Arnold’s voice “Get your ass to Mars!” ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/7 "2012-08-18T01:57:57Z")
A microphone is such a simple thing, I wonder if some software modifications can convert existing hardware on Curiosity into a type of microphone. All you really need is an RCL circuit close to the right range and sensitive enough electronics to pick up the fluctuations in the right range. A band pass filter can filter out the rest. It wouldn’t be optimized, but it might be doable. Really, any electronics that are sensitive to vibrations should do it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/8 "2012-08-18T03:38:27Z")
" . . . tap . . . tap . . . is this thing on?" :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/9 "2012-08-18T03:47:43Z")
Yeah, it’s on. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dT5e4pua9LI/hqdefault.jpg "The Martian Hop The Ran-Dells.wmv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT5e4pua9LI) ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/10 "2012-08-18T15:53:23Z")
Pardon the [cracked.com](http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-bizarre-sounds-from-outer-space/) link, but we know how other planets sound already, from Earth to Uranus. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/11 "2012-08-18T16:17:47Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > And Curiosity enjoys itself every Friday Night at the pub. Mars A-Taps? Soom Bar? Tars’ Place? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/12 "2012-08-18T16:27:15Z")
I’m wondering if the greatly diminished atmosphere of Mars would render a microphone less valuable. And would any of the instruments on the rover be able to detect, say, the grinding of a component? Are there sensitive motion detectors? Seismographs, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/13 "2012-08-18T23:32:22Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I’m wondering if the greatly diminished atmosphere of Mars would render a microphone less valuable. And would any of the instruments on the rover be able to detect, say, the grinding of a component? Are there sensitive motion detectors? Seismographs, maybe? Not to be a kill-joy, but this is what I was going to say. Mars’ atmosphere is _one one-hundredth_ as dense as Earth’s! And sound _is_ atmosphere. Just as the concept of color does not exist without light, sound does not exist without a carrier medium (i.e. atmosphere). I know it’s not quite a vacuum like the Moon, but with only 1% the density of Earth’s how much useful and/or interesting sounds could there be?! But hey, they did put a freakin’ cool evil hu-man Martian-killing death-ray laser gun on this one! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/14 "2012-08-19T00:38:48Z")
They aren’t useful for anything scientific that I know of, but they are useful for “ooooooh” and “aaaaaaaah”, which often translates to $$$$$$$$. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/15 "2012-08-19T02:25:59Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > but with only 1% the density of Earth’s how much useful and/or interesting sounds could there be?! If there were a microphone there we could find out, Einstein. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-mars-probe-have-a-microphone/631769/16 "2012-08-19T03:49:57Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > If there were a microphone there we could find out, Einstein. Knowing everything that we currently know about the conditions on Mars I’m sure we could computer simulate what the surface would sound like with 100% accuracy. Of course we’d have to simulate what it would sound like from inside a Mars lander or spacesuit as since even if you could expose your ear canal to the Martian atmosphere without injury (which you couldn’t) the sounds would be so faint as to be essentially inaudible to humans. This is why real NASA scientists don’t make a big deal about doing this. Every single gram of equipment weight is precious on these probes, and they’d be laughed out of the room for pushing too seriously to include an experiment that’s little more than a PR gimmick!