Venus is geologically active! Thanks to NASA’s research and previous data from the Magellan mission, some evidence of active volcanoes (Maat Mons) in Venus, the closest planets to Earth in the Solar System. To know more about this finding, Nasa is already thinking about a new mission called VERITAS and Europe has another one in mind called EnVision. Both missions could be useful to learn more mysterious aspects of this planet, which is so similar to Earth and, at the same time, so different.
Venus has been NASA’s subject of study before, but this is crucial for scientists to know how this planet works inside. So, let’s see what’s happening on this planet more in detail!
NASA discovery
For so long, scientists thought Venus was dead inside, meaning there were no active volcanoes or any movements on its surface, but this has been refuted by recent NASA’s research because they found out this planet is alive!
How did NASA find this? Well, the Magellan mission, which took images of 98% of Venus’ surface in the 90s, was very important in this finding. NASA checked these images and data again with more modern technology and they saw Venus still has geological activity! This means this planet is still hot and its surface keeps changing, as if it was moving.
Where was this found?
Scientists saw circular structures called coronae, similar to giant scars. They studied 75 of these coronae and 52 were right on top of hot areas inside Venus which push the crust from below, making it stretch, break or raise.
Even though Venus doesn’t have tectonic plates like Earth does, these pieces make possible earthquakes or the formation of mountains, Venus’ crust moves due to the heat inside.
Volcanoes in Venus?
You might think this is impossible, but it’s happening! Scientists found a volcano called Maat Mons, capable of changing its shape in a period of 8 months. This was so shocking for scientists because this can only be possible if the volcano is active, something it was denied by scientists until now… Another surprising thing they found was lava flows with recent activity which indicates there is a lot of volcanic activity on the planet’s surface.
The reason why this is important
Don’t think this finding is just another one, having the opportunity to know more about Venus is crucial for scientists, who could better understand how rocky planets were formed and evolved. We could have the chance to know how our planet Earth was billions of years ago, can you imagine it?
So, that’s why this NASA finding is important, not only affects Venus, but also Earth. This can lead to further studies on our planet that we would benefit in the future.
Future missions
There’s no time to waste! That’s why NASA is expected to launch the VERITAS mission in 2031 to create detailed maps of Venus and observe its surface as never before. This is not the only mission already thought for the future, ESA is preparing the EnVision mission to look for ancient volcanic rocks and find out whether there was water in Venus at some point of its existence.
A planet full of surprises
As you can see, these types of findings change everything we thought we knew, in this case about Venus. The fact that this planet was thought to be dead inside and now it’s known to be full of volcanic activity. This shows space elements are constantly changing and they must be studied in order to obtain updated data of what’s happening out there. That’s why the previously mentioned missions are crucial for further studies.