This is the first acoustic recording of laser impacts on a rock target on Mars from March 2, 2021, the 12th sol (Martian day) from Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument. The sounds of 30 impacts are heard, some slightly louder than others. Variations in the intensity of the zapping sounds will provide information on the physical structure of the targets, such as its relative hardness or the presence of weathering coatings. The target, Máaz (“Mars” in Navajo), was about 10 feet (3.1 m) away.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ISAE-Supaero

First Acoustic Recording of Laser Shots on Mars

Astronomical data from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster has been translated into sounds we can hear.
artist: Chandra X-ray Observatory
(Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand, M. Russo & A. Santaguida)

Black Hole 'Sound' in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster

Courtesty of Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS)aboard NASA’s Van Allen Probes team at the University of Iowa

Chorus Radio Waves within Earth's Atmosphere

Voyager 1's plasma wave instrument detected the vibrations of dense interstellar plasma, or ionized gas, from October to November 2012 and April to May 2013. This sound reproduces the amplitude and frequency of the plasma waves as "heard" by Voyager 1.

Voyager: Interstellar Plasma Sounds

This image shows the region around the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), in infrared (orange and purple) and X-ray light (blue). The image is scanned from left to right and the data are transformed into sound. The brightness of the objects is represented by the volume, while the vertical positions of the sources in the image are mapped to musical pitches. X-rays are played with a soft synthesizer and the infrared data are heard as bass notes and plucked sounds. The brightest region in the middle of the image (and hence the loudest) is where Sgr A* the black hole, resides. It is within this area that the Event Horizon Telescope was able to peer to obtain the first image of Sgr A* itself.

Sagittarius A* Sonification

MSH 15-52 is a cloud of energized particles blown away from a dead, collapsed star. This image includes X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (orange, green and blue) as well as the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, or IXPE (purple). X-ray data have been combined with infrared data from the Dark Energy Plane Survey 2 (red and blue). In sound, the scan goes from the bottom to the top. The brightness of the Chandra data of the cloud has been converted into rough string-like sounds, while the blast wave is represented by a range of pitches of firework-type noises. The IXPE data are heard as wind-like sounds. The infrared data are mapped to musical pitches of a synthesizer sound. The light curve, or brightness over time, from the dead star’s collapsed core is heard in pulses that occur almost 7 times every second as it does in the original data.

Credits: Images: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./R. Romani et al. (Chandra); NASA/MSFC (IXPE); Infrared: NOIRLab/DECam; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Schmidt; Sonification: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)


Chandra/IXPE/DEPS2 B1509 (MSH 15-52) Sonification

On episode 368, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide discusses how JAXA is contributing to NASA’s lunar space station, Gateway, and future Artemis missions. 

Houston We Have a Podcast: Gateway: Japan in Deep Space

We’re kicking off 2025 with NASA’s deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who wraps up her tenure at NASA this month. As a former astronaut with three space shuttle flights under her belt – including one flight as commander – Pam has made lasting contributions to human spaceflight. She’s also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force as a retired colonel. In her most recent role, Pam helped shape the NASA’s focus on long-term strategies, including Moon to Mars exploration, space sustainability, and a long-term vision for NASA’s future as an organization. Now, as she prepares to pass the torch, Pam joins us to reflect on her NASA career and share insights from her time as a pilot, astronaut, and public servant.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 145: Pam Melroy: Behind the Strategy

The Moon’s South Pole is a bizarre landscape. Mountain ridges glow in perpetual sunlight while deep craters freeze in billion-year-old shade. Yet hidden in the depths of those shadowed craters, under temperatures almost three times colder than the frostiest day in Antarctica, lurks something familiar–water ice. In the future, that ice could sustain human explorers or be broken apart into hydrogen and oxygen to refuel rockets. Join Brett Denevi, Artemis III geology team lead, to learn why NASA plans to land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole later this decade. Then with Michelle Munk, NASA space technology chief architect, meet the robot Moon landers scouting ahead of Artemis which will drill beneath the regolith and test technologies designed to help future human explorers survive the Pole’s extreme conditions.  

Curious Universe: Why the Moon’s Icy South Pole is a Hot Target for NASA

NASA engineers turn dreams into reality, solving complex challenges to push exploration forward. From landing rovers on Mars to advancing deep space missions, their ingenuity makes it all possible. This episode with Chief Engineer Joe Pellicciotti and Deputy Chief Engineer Katherine Van Hooser celebrates the innovation, dedication, and impact of NASA’s engineering community.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 148: Celebrating NASA's Engineers

On episode 376, NASA Johnson’s multimedia team leads discuss what it takes to capture and share the story of space exploration and how methods have evolved since the Apollo era.  

Houston We Have a Podcast: I Want My NASA TV

This is our second episode for our March celebration we call Engineering Month: Building Mission Success at NASA. It’s a time to celebrate the problem-solvers, innovators, and builders who turn bold ideas into reality. These are the engineers who tackle some of the toughest challenges in exploration.
Like people, every spacecraft needs a good blanket, one that can withstand the extreme cold, the Sun’s intense radiation, and impacts from micrometeoroids. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, Paula Cain is one of the skilled hands behind these essential layers of protection. As a thermal blanket technician, she works with engineers to design and fabricate the high-tech installation that keeps spacecraft safe from the harsh environments of space. 

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 149: Spacecraft Thermal Blankets

On episode 377, Three flight controllers from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss their roles and how they monitor and maintain a healthy crew aboard the International Space Station.            


Houston We Have a Podcast: Mission Control: Crew Health Consoles

On episode 378, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim discusses his upcoming mission to the International Space Station, his experience in the military and medical field, and his journey to becoming an astronaut.  

Houston We Have a Podcast: The Pursuit of Lifelong Learning

What if you could use an app on your phone to call up an air taxi to take you from one side of town to the other? NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders Project, or AMP, is working on it. 

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 150: Urban Air Taxis

On episode 379, NASA and Axiom Space experts discuss the lunar spacesuit Axiom is developing that astronauts will wear when they step foot on the Moon again during the Artemis III mission. 

Houston We Have a Podcast: Commercial Lunar Spacesuits

	
On episode 380, four flight controllers from NASA’s Mission Control Center discuss how they create astronauts’ daily schedules, track where all equipment is stored, and manage electricity and internet on the space station. 

Houston We Have A Podcast: Mission Control: Schedule and Inventory

NASA’s design labs are where engineers develop concepts for missions and scientific instruments.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Podcast Episode 151: Designing Missions

On episode 381, two NASA Artemis experts discuss how the agency is preparing future moonwalkers to use new tools to explore the unique science near the lunar South Pole. 

Houston We Have a Podcast: Commercial Lunar Tools and Science

This is a sound that was electronically placed onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

Golden Record: Music of The Spheres

This is a sound that was electronically placed onboard the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. 

Golden Record: Wind, Rain, Surf

Golden Record: Wild Dog

Golden Record: Footsteps, Heartbeat, Laughter

Golden Record: Fire, Speech

Golden Record: The First Tools

Golden Record: Tame Dog

Golden Record: Morse Code, Ships

Golden Record: Horse And Cart

Golden Record: Train

Golden Record: Tractor, Bus, Auto

Golden Record: Kiss, Mother And Child

Golden Record: Life Signs, Pulsar

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "May all be very well"

Golden Record: Akkadian Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Friends of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time."

Golden Record: Amoy (Min Dialect)Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Greetings to our friends in the stars. We wish that we will meet you someday."

Golden Record: Arabic Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Peace"

Golden Record: Aramaic Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "To all those who exist in the universe, greetings."

Golden Record: Armenian Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Hello from the children of planet Earth."

Golden Record: English Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Hello everybody."

Golden Record: French Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Heartfelt greetings to all."

Golden Record: German Greeting

This is a greeting to the universe that was electronically placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft.

English Translation: "Greetings to you, whoever you are. We come in friendship to those who are friends."

Golden Record: Greek Greeting

Data from the European Space Agency and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has captured the dynamic movement of the Sun’s atmosphere for over 20 years. Today, we can hear the Sun’s movement — all of its waves, loops and eruptions — with our own ears.

This story incorporates data sonified by the Stanford Experimental Physics Lab and music from Lee Rosevere.

10 Minute Meditations

Flow

Sounds of the Sun

The Stanford Experimental Physics Lab sonified data from the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). This humming sound captures the Sun’s natural vibrations and provides scientists with a concrete representation of its dynamic movements.

For more solar sounds, visit: http://soi.stanford.edu/results/sounds.html

Sun Sonification

Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.

NASA

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