NASA scientists are eager to hear what happens when they turn on a previously unused microphone from the Phoenix Lander on Mars. According to an announcement by mission leaders on Monday, the microphone will be activated within the next week or two.

The microphone is itself part of a larger system called the Mars Descent Imager (MARDI), which was fixed to the underside of the Phoenix Lander, pointing downward; its intended role was to take shots of the Mars Lander’s descent as it touched down. However, the microphone has so far never been turned on, due to safety concerns.

Back in 1999, NASA had sent another lander to the red planet, dubbed the Mars Polar Lander. The project met with disaster as NASA lost contact with the lander just as it was touching down, and it is presumed that it crashed. Scientists believe that the microphone system installed on it, similar to the one on the Phoenix Lander, may have had something to do with the crash, so they didn’t take any chances.

However now that thee Phoenix Lander has gone above and beyond the call of duty, going more than a month beyond its intended tour of duty, and discovering such marvelous things as the presence of ice-water below Mars’ surface, and snow falling high in the atmosphere, scientists are more willing to risk it.

There is a problem with using a microphone on mars though. The atmosphere is very thin, and sound waves travel with greater difficulty, so it’s not sure if the microphone will pick up anything. Also, according to Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith the MARDI is “not a professional microphone” and went on to compare it rather to the kind of microphone one would find in a cell phone.

Therefore scientists have decided to perform a test: first time they turn the Descent Imager’s microphone on, they’ll do so when the lander is performing its other operations, and see if they can hear those. If they can, they’ll then proceed to listen when the rest of the lander is quiet, hoping to pick up sounds of the planet for the first time.

It’s not as easy as flipping a switch though, because the team needed NASA funding and approval before they could turn it on. NASA higher-ups have given their go-ahead, but it may still take up to a week. There are certain checks that need to be done, and also the Phoenix Lander’s software needs a bit of upgrading, according to Smith, who summed it up by saying that "We're just kind of cranking it up."

The MARDI system also has a video imaging device, which scientists will use to take pictures directly below the lander, where scientists speculate there is a patch of exposed ice, the so-called “holy cow” ice feature.