Development of the first audio microphone for use on the surface of Mars

Abstract

In 1999, NASA launched the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) to study volatiles and the climate history of Mars. Among the many instruments aboard the spacecraft was the first audio microphone sensor ever developed for the environment of Mars, included as a piggy-back sensor on the Russian LIDAR experiment. Funded by The Planetary Society and built and tested by the U.C. Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, the Mars Microphone was a unique and powerful tool for public engagement with the Mars exploration program. The possibilities for sound sources on Mars included wind and dust found in dust devils and storms, atmospheric electricity, and lander-generated sounds such as camera movements and the digging of the robotic arm. Here we outline the design, development, and test program for a spaceflight acoustic sensor, where the unique challenges of extreme environments, limited data bandwidth, and requirements for a low-power, light-weight system were overcome. While the MPL mission was lost and no data ever returned, the Mars Microphone nonetheless stimulated interest in the science of extra-terrestrial acoustics and in future planetary mission instruments based on acoustic methods.