SXSW 2023

NASA Hears Space: Sounds of the Solar System

Description:

NASA spacecraft don’t just take awe-inspiring pictures — some of them send back sounds from beyond our planet. The Mars Perseverance rover launched with two microphones that have captured the Red Planet as never before. At Saturn, the Cassini mission recorded radio emissions that scientists have converted to audible frequencies. We can also listen to vibrations in interstellar space from the Voyager 1 probe, the farthest spacecraft ever. Closer to home, the Parker Solar Probe, NASA’s mission to touch the Sun, recorded the vibrations of plasma waves that sound ready-made for a sci-fi movie. What can we learn from listening to space?


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Takeaways

  1. NASA has spacecraft that directly record sounds or take data that we can experience as sound.
  2. The sounds of space help scientists learn new things about the planets and space environment beyond Earth.
  3. NASA's space sounds are freely available for anyone to experience. Maybe they will inspire your next song!

Speakers


Organizer

Elizabeth Landau, Senior Communication Specialist, NASA


Meta Information:

  • Event: SXSW
  • Format: Panel
  • Track: Future of Music
  • Track 2
  • Level: Beginner


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