ANASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover touched down on the Red Planet last week, with DPA Microphones along for the historic ride. Outfitted with DPA’s 4006 Omnidirectional Microphone, MMA-A Digital Audio Interface and MMP-G Modular Active Cable, the rover provided the first sounds from the surface of Mars.
After being put through vigorous testing by NASA scientists, the DPA equipment, affixed to the Mars “Perseverance” Rover, officially launched into space aboard the Atlas V-541 rocket in July 2020. Over the past seven months, the DPA equipment has faced pressure changes while leaving Earth’s atmosphere and again when entering the Martian surface, and extreme temperatures — as low as -100 Celsius/-148 Fahrenheit — on Mars. Additionally, the DPA gear has endured the massive vibrations caused by the rocket launch and subsequent landing on Mars.
“It is an honor to have been chosen for this space mission, and we are so pleased by the results,” says DPA Product Manager René Mørch. “Everything about the mission — from the launch to the landing — is hostile insofar as a microphone is generally concerned. It’s very exciting to know that DPA was able to record something from so many millions of miles away, and have the sound travel back to us so quickly. We are proud to have worked with NASA for such a historic and important mission. To have been able to deliver audio from the surface of Mars is truly a crowning achievement.”
