this post was submitted on 05 May 2025
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NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover

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On the plains of Jezero, the secrets of Mars' past await us! Follow for the latest news, updates, pretty pics, and community discussion on NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's most ambitious mission to Mars!

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For those unaware, Perseverance and Curiosity are both armed, like the good patriotic American rovers they are - equipped with lasers which have a definite scientific function, but which also (let's be honest) serve to dissuade any Martian critters they come across from getting too close...

Let's hope Sheriff Percy doesn't need to use it.

Original image with caption (MastCam, sol 1495)

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ah, but you mustn't forget that Percy's microphone is also keenly listening in whenever it uses the laser. The geologists are using the sounds of the explosions to estimate the hardness and material properties of the rocks they're shooting:

We find that louder and more stable acoustic signals are recorded from rock with compact surfaces, i.e., low presence loose particulate material, and harder mineral phases in their composition.

We would therefore be quite aware of any screams from Martian life-forms we inadvertently shoot.

Just saying.