In the upcoming week or two, NASA plans to switch on the microphone of the Phoenix Mars Lander, NASA mission leaders announced. It would be a premiere for the space agency to actually hear and record Mars’ background sound.

"This is definitely a first," said Phoenix investigator, Peter Smith.

The microphone is incorporated in Phoenix’s Mars Descent Imager system built to record downward looking images during the space craft’s three-minute landing. The initial plan was to switch on the microphone on May 25 when Phoenix touched down. However, those plans never materialized because tests showed that using the Mars Descent Imager system would increase the risks against a successful Phoenix landing.

Despite the fact that the initial plan to use the microphone couldn’t be completed, scientist did not lose hope of using it in the future to record sounds on Mars and now that they received NASA’s funding to turn on the mike they must be very contempt.

"We'd always hoped to turn it on," Smith said.

However, they won’t turn the mike on right away. A series o checks must be performed and Phoenix's software needs some changes, Smith added.

The microphone will be switched on after the preparations are completed. NASA scientist will most likely turn it on while the Lander is carrying on some operation that would cause noise.

"Just to make sure we hear something," Smith said. "You at least want to know if there's a chance of noise being created."

Scientist aren’t sure whether sound even exists or can be caused on Mars. First of all, a sound surely travels slower on Mars because the planet’s atmosphere is thinner than Earth’s. It probably is just like listening to a sound wave at 100,000 feet above the Earth.