China releases first videos of its Mars rover, including eerie noise as it rolls down a ramp

• China released sounds from its Mars rover on Sunday.
• Among those is the muffled noise of the rover coming down its lander's rack.
• The sounds can be used to discover more about the planet's atmosphere, one Chinese expert said.

China has released video and sound clips from its rover exploring the surface of Mars

The files were published by China National Space Agency on Sunday.

The sound is of the Zhurong rover leaving its lander before taking its first ride in May, and can be heard in the video below.

-CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 27, 2021

The eerie noises are made by the rover moving on the rack, said Jia Yand, deputy chief designer of the Mars rover project

The sound is somewhat muffled, and doesn't quite sound like what could be expected on Earth.

It could provide clues about the environment and conditions on Mars, including figuring out the density of the atmosphere, according to Jizhong, deputy commander of the exploration program.

Liu said its main purpose is to listen to the wind.

This is not the first sound recording to come back from Mars.

NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed about a month before Zhurong, sent back its first audio recording in February.

Since then, NASA has released more sounds from Mars, including the sounds of the rover driving around and of its laser firing at rocks.

A new Martian panorama, and footage of the rover launding

Since it landed in May, the rover has moved 236 meters (about 774 ft), CNSA said.

A video shows a 360 view caught by the rover's onboard camera. Its tracks lead to the lander which can be seen in the distance.

-CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 27, 2021

The full 360-degree panorama can be seen here.

Another video, below, shows the rover backing away from a camera that it dumped it on the ground to take a selfie with its lander platform. It can be seen rotating in place, showing that it is in good working condition, the China National Space Agency (CNSA) said.

-CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 27, 2021

One last video released on Sunday shows the rover's landing in May, including the deployment of its parachute and the moment it touched down.

-CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 27, 2021

The rover is expected to remain active around another 48 days.

During its mission, it is meant to be analyzing the chemical make-up of Martian soil and looking for signs of water on the Utopia Planitia region where it landed,, Insider's Aylin Woodward reported on May 22.