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Earthlings will have to wait until 2007 to hear the sounds of Mars. The Mars
Microphone, built by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley,
will pick up sounds at audible frequencies and relay them back to Earth. The
Planetary Society—an international association of space-exploration
enthusiasts—sent an earlier version on NASA’s ill-fated Mars Polar Lander,
which disappeared during its descent in 1999. Now a new Mars Microphone will
hitch a ride on France’s NetLander Mars mission, planned for 2007. The
microphone will be used both to pick up natural Martian sounds and to listen for
specific noises from the lander.