Scientists Capture the Sound of Sunrise on Mars

Dr Domenico Vicinanza, of Anglia Ruskin University, and Dr Genevieve Williams, of the University of Exeter, will present the world premiere of the piece, entitled Mars Soundscapes in the NASA booth at the forthcoming Supercomputing SC18 Conference in Dallas (13 November).

The piece will be presented using both conventional speakers and vibrational transducers so the audience could feel the vibrations with their hands, thus enjoying a first-person experience of a sunrise on Mars.

Opportunity is a robotic rover that has been providing photographic data on Mars for NASA since 2004. Earlier this year, it ceased communications following a dust storm. Scientists hope that it may resume its function later this year.

Dr Vicinanza, Director of the Sound and Game Engineering (SAGE) research group at Anglia Ruskin, said: “We are absolutely thrilled about presenting this work about such a fascinating planet.

“Image sonification is a really flexible technique to explore science and it can be used in several domains, from studying certain characteristics of planet surfaces and atmospheres, to analysing weather changes or detecting volcanic eruptions.

“In health science, it can provide scientists with new methods to analyse the occurrence of certain shapes and colours, which is particularly useful in image diagnostics.”

Contacts and sources:
Jamie ForsythAnglia Ruskin University

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