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The US space agency Nasa has released the first audio recording of a flight of the Mars helicopter “Ingenuity”.
The rover "Perseverance", with which the mini helicopter landed on Mars in February, recorded the sounds with one of its microphones on the fourth flight of "Ingenuity" at the end of April, said NASA.
It is the first audio recording from a Mars flight and the first that a spacecraft made on another planet from another spacecraft.
The helicopter cannot be heard particularly well, however, as “Perseverance” recorded from around 80 meters away and the thin Mars atmosphere and the wind also dampen and drown out the flight noises.
But even the little that can be heard is a "very good surprise" and a "gold mine for further understanding of the Martian atmosphere," said scientist David Mimoun.
"Perseverance" (in German: stamina) had previously sent audio recordings of his landing, of trying out his laser and of a trip over Mars to Earth.
The rover - and the helicopter “Ingenuity” (in German, for example: ingenuity) were touched down with a risky maneuver in a dry Mars lake called “Jezero Crater” at the end of February - after 203 days of flight and 472 million kilometers traveled.
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The development and construction of the approximately 2.5 billion dollar (about 2.2 billion euros) rover had taken eight years.
He will search for traces of earlier microbial life on Mars and research the climate and geology of the planet.
“Ingenuity” took off for the first time on April 19, making it the first aircraft to fly on another planet.
The helicopter has taken off three more times since then.
His mission, originally planned to last around 30 days, has been extended by around 30 days.