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First sounds of wind on Mars captured by NASA’s Insight Lander
This fresh in from the Elysium Planitia of Mars: the sound of wind from an alien world. On its 10th day as a new resident of the red planet, NASA’s InSight lander’s pressure sensor transmitted air vibration data from its trembling solar panels, representing a steady breeze about 99 million miles away. The combination of photos sent back from the craft with the sound of Martian wind gives Earth residents a unique moment to feel like they’ve joined the craft themselves. “It’s fun to imagine that I’m there,” mused Don Banfield during a JPL media teleconference discussing the recording. Banfield is InSight’s Auxiliary Payload Sensor Subsystem (APSS) Science Lead.
InSight, short for “Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport”, launched aboard an Atlas V rocket on May 5, 2018 and successfully landed on the Martian surface on November 26, 2018. The craft is a seismic investigator sent to study the red planet’s core, eventually drilling 10-16 feet down into its crust to gather geographical data. The craft’s landing event was live streamed online for viewers around the world, greeting Earthlings with a photo of its new home’s surface shortly after. It sent back more photos of the surrounding area prior to the wind recording.
The thin CO2 atmosphere on Mars doesn’t translate high sounds well, so the recorded vibrations from InSight’s pressure sensor are low on the audio spectrum, under 50 Hz, thus difficult to hear. However, after the frequency was increased by a factor of 100 (raised two octaves), it became possible to hear what sounds like a steady wind blowing across the regolith. Dust devils tracked in the area moving across the Martian surface had motion consistent with the wind recordings, thus confirming what was being heard by InSight’s scientists.
The way InSight picks up and translates sound is similar to how a human ear works: Air pressure vibrates the eardrum, then that vibration pattern is sent through the inner ear bones to the cochlea which has tiny hairs translating the vibrations into electrical signals sent to the brain. InSight’s solar panels are like its eardrums, the spacecraft structure itself like its inner ear, its instruments like its cochlear, and its electronic box translating and transmitting signals is like brain. The “sounds” we hear from Mars are translated data from wind-caused vibrations.
Ironically enough, wind noise is actually not a particularly desired outcome from InSight’s instruments. According to the scientists participating in NASA’s teleconference discussing the event, the inlet for the pressure sensor was specifically designed to minimize any chatter from air movement. Also, the placement of InSight’s seismographic gear will be based on the best area to reduce input from the lander’s interaction with the vibrations it’s recording, i.e., the lander’s movement from seismic events. It should be noted, though, the Martian wind gracing our human ears for the first time is only a taste of what’s to come from InSight’s instruments.
Once the wind and thermal shield (the white dome in the photos) has been lifted from the lander in a few weeks, all of InSight’s instruments will be exposed to the Martian environment for data collection. For now, the lander’s Earth-based team is first focusing on understanding the area the craft is in to pick the best place to set its instruments. After the main mission begins, however, a full study of Mars’ atmosphere will be underway and we could hear, among other natural events, the sounds of exploding meteors.
While wind may be a unique sound to hear on an alien world, it’s not the first time a NASA craft has entertained our ears and imaginations. Electromagnetic vibrations have been recorded all across our solar system, perhaps the most famous of which originated from the Voyager 1 spacecraft launched in 1977. The data collected from the craft’s radio-capturing instruments has been converted into audio files – you can even find a full album’s worth of the sounds on a variety of streaming sites. Some of the recordings are meditation-worthy, others a touch unnerving. We humans have additionally added some recordings of our own to space via Voyager’s famous “golden record”, the sounds of which are also available for listening online.
If you’re craving a full Martian soundtrack, you’ll be happy to know that NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is planned to provide just that. It will have two microphones on board, one of which will record the actual landing of the rover. Combined with telemetry data and surface photographs, Mars is on its way to its own documentary with inputs completely provided “on-location”. Stay tuned!
Listen to the Martian wind yourself below:
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Tesla just unlocked sales to 50,000+ government agencies
It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.
Tesla just unlocked sales to over 50,000 government agencies by entering a new agreement with Sourcewell, a purchasing cooperative.
Tesla entered a new master purchasing agreement with Sourcewell, the largest government purchasing cooperative in the U.S. This will enable streamlined sales of its EVs to more than 50,000 U.S. public entities. Tesla entered Designated Contract 0813525-TES, and the agreement covers Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck, and potentially other vehicles the company could release.
It marks a significant step in expanding Tesla’s presence in the public sector, where procurement processes have traditionally slowed electric vehicle adoption.
The deal allows eligible agencies, including cities, school districts, state governments, and higher-education institutions, to purchase Tesla vehicles directly through Sourcewell without conducting their own lengthy competitive bidding or request-for-proposal (RFP) processes.
Pricing is pre-negotiated and capped, providing transparency and predictability. Agencies simply register for a Sourcewell account online or by phone and place orders under the existing contract. This cooperative model aggregates demand across thousands of members, reducing administrative costs and time while ensuring compliance with public procurement rules.
For Tesla, the agreement removes major barriers to government fleet sales. Public-sector procurement cycles often stretch 12 to 18 months due to bidding requirements and committee reviews.
Tesla buyers in the U.S. military can get $1,000 off Cybertruck purchases
By securing the master contract, Tesla gains immediate, simplified access to a massive customer base that previously faced friction in adopting EVs. The company highlighted in its announcement that the partnership will help these 50,000-plus agencies “save thousands of $$$ in operating costs for their vehicle fleet over time” through lower maintenance, energy efficiency, and the elimination of tailpipe emissions.
The initial four-year term runs through November 13, 2029, with options for up to three one-year extensions, offering long-term stability for both parties.
Sourcewell’s role is central to execution. As a cooperative purchasing organization, it negotiates and manages vendor contracts on behalf of its members, then makes them available nationwide. Participating entities contact Tesla’s dedicated fleet team or Sourcewell representatives to complete purchases, bypassing redundant paperwork.
This structure accelerates fleet electrification while maintaining fiscal accountability—agencies receive pre-vetted pricing and terms without reinventing the wheel for each vehicle order.
The partnership positions Tesla to capture a larger share of the public fleet market, where total cost of ownership often favors electric vehicles once procurement hurdles are removed.
For government buyers, it translates to faster deployment of sustainable fleets, reduced long-term expenses, and alignment with environmental mandates. As more agencies transition, the contract could contribute to broader EV infrastructure growth and taxpayer savings across the country.
Elon Musk
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
SpaceX’s IPO filing confirms Musk will maintain his voting power to make key decisions for the company.
Elon Musk will retain dominant voting control of SpaceX after it goes public, according to the company’s IPO prospectus that was filed with the SEC. The filing reveals a dual-class equity structure giving Class B shareholders 10 votes each, concentrating power with Musk and a handful of other insiders, while Class A shares sold to public investors carry one vote.
Musk holds approximately 42% of SpaceX’s equity and controls roughly 79% of its votes through super-voting shares. He will simultaneously serve as CEO, CTO, and chairman of the nine-member board after the listing. Beyond that, the filing includes provisions that may limit shareholders’ influence over board elections and legal actions, forcing disputes into arbitration and restricting where they can be brought.
The case for Musk holding this level of control is grounded in SpaceX’s actual history. The company’s most important bets, from reusable rockets to a global satellite internet constellation, were decisions that ran against conventional aerospace thinking and would likely have faced resistance from a board accountable to investor gains. Fully reusable rockets were considered economically irrational by established industry players for years. Starlink, which now generates over $4 billion in annual operating profit, was widely dismissed as financially unviable when it was proposed. The argument for concentrated founder control seems straightforward, and the decisions that built SpaceX into what it is today required someone willing to ignore consensus and absorb years of losses.
SpaceX files confidentially for IPO that will rewrite the record books
For context, Musk’s position is significantly more dominant than Zuckerberg’s at Meta. The comparison with Tesla is also worth noting. When Tesla did its IPO in 2010, it did not issue dual-class shares. Musk has only recently pushed for enhanced voting protection, proposing at least 25% control at Tesla in 2024 after selling shares to fund his Twitter acquisition left him with around 13%.
SpaceX has clearly learned from that experience and structured the IPO differently by planning to allocate up to 30% of shares to retail investors, roughly three times the typical norm for a large offering. The roadshow is expected to begin the week of June 8, with a Nasdaq listing rumored to be a $1.75 trillion valuation and a $75 billion raise.
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Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
Tesla is bolstering its smartphone App with a series of new features to streamline operations for owners. The new additions include fixes to safety, its in-house insurance offering, and storage management for Dashcam clips.
The Tesla Smartphone App is one of the biggest and best features and advantages owners have. Everything from moving the vehicle with Summon, to getting Navigation sent to the car, to preconditioning the cabin can be done with the Tesla App.
But in classic Tesla fashion, the company is aiming to improve the offerings of the app, and it is doing so with a handful of new features. They were first discovered by Tesla App Updates.
Tesla Insurance – Safety Score 3.0
This is truly part of the Spring 2026 Update, but Tesla has now given more transparency on how FSD has saved people money on their premiums.
Tesla intertwines FSD with in-house Insurance for attractive incentive
Additionally, Tesla is now automatically awarding a Safety Score of 100 for every mile traveled on Full Self-Driving (Supervised).
Update Tracking
Updates traditionally appear on the App or on the Center Touchscreen in the car. There is nothing better than seeing that Green Arrow at the top of the screen, or opening your app and seeing that there is a Software Update available.
Now, there will be no need to manually check the app and initiate the download. Tesla is enabling a new feature that will automatically download updates for you.
Storage Management
Your USB drive can now be remotely formatted, and old Dashcam clips can be deleted straight from the phone. When you record a lot of things using the Dashcam feature, that storage fills up pretty quickly.
Now, manually deleting the Dashcam videos is easier than ever.
Trailer Light Test
This is perhaps the coolest and most crucial addition to the Tesla App, as those who tow and haul will now be able to trigger a diagnostic light sequence from the app while standing behind your trailer to ensure the brake lights work.
Verifying your trailer lights are connected properly and operating normally and as intended is normally a massive hassle.
Now, a new trigger will be available to initiate a diagnostic light sequence directly from your phone.
Tesla just unlocked sales to 50,000+ government agencies
How much of SpaceX will Elon Musk own after IPO will surprise you
