# Is There Sound (audible to the human ear) on Mars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852 "2012-03-15T11:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/1 "2012-03-15T11:51:56Z")
Check out [this awesome picture of a tornado on Mars](http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/08/10605706-twisty-dust-devil-captured-on-mars). From what I understand, the atmosphere on Mars is about 1% as dense as that of the Earth. Would such a thin atmosphere carry sound waves that are audible to the human ear? If I were standing near that tornado, would I have been able to hear it?\* \*Of course not- I’d have been in a space suit. But you get what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Sizzles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@Sizzles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sizzles)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/2 "2012-03-15T12:04:02Z")
Nasa put a microphone on the Polar Lander; [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lidar/microphone/mic\_found.html](http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lidar/microphone/mic_found.html) Don’t know if it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/3 "2012-03-15T13:19:38Z")
There is an atmosphere so yes there would be sound; sound is basically the displacement of molecules. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/4 "2012-03-15T13:51:53Z")
> [@Sizzles](#): > > Nasa put a microphone on the Polar Lander; > > [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lidar/microphone/mic\_found.html](http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/lidar/microphone/mic_found.html) > > Don’t know if it worked. The [Polar Lander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander) crashed. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/5 "2012-03-15T14:02:35Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The [Polar Lander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander) crashed. My bad. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/6 "2012-03-15T14:07:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The [Polar Lander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander) crashed. I bet that made a sound. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/7 "2012-03-15T14:17:15Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I bet that made a sound. If a spaceship crashes on Mars, but there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/8 "2012-03-15T14:19:32Z")
Age old question. If a Polar Lander crashes onto a planet with a very thin atmosphere and no one could actually survive standing on the surface of that planet without wearing a spacesuit that cancels out most outside noise, does it make a sound? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/9 "2012-03-15T15:44:38Z")
I found [this interesting article](http://www.physorg.com/news70900952.html) - theoretical results rather than experimental, but I found it interesting - a sound that would carry 1 kilometer on Earth would travel approx 15 meters on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/10 "2012-03-15T16:14:50Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > There is an atmosphere so yes there would be sound; sound is basically the displacement of molecules. But with only 1% of earth-atmosphere density would human ears be able to _hear_ that sound? Would sounds just be 1% as loud? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/11 "2012-03-15T16:24:33Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > But with only 1% of earth-atmosphere density would human ears be able to _hear_ that sound? Would sounds just be 1% as loud? I imagine the relationship between volume and density won’t be linear. The _speed_ of sound will certainly be slower in a less dense medium. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/12 "2012-03-15T16:28:45Z")
I suspect that distance might be the factor - that despite the sparse air, a sound that you’re very close to is almost as loud as on Earth, but it falls off quickly as it travels. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/13 "2012-03-15T16:36:18Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > But with only 1% of earth-atmosphere density would human ears be able to _hear_ that sound? Would sounds just be 1% as loud? Depends upon the individuals hearing perception. I for one have trouble hearing the grass grow over the screams of the butterflies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-sound-audible-to-the-human-ear-on-mars/615852/14 "2012-03-16T01:53:37Z")
There was a website that simulated what a windstorm on Mars would sound like. Sounded very meh. I’ll see if I can find it. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2jNQMTnhdQ) Here’s another one to compare sounds [http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/marsmic/sound.html](http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/marsmic/sound.html)