NASA's decades-old Magellan mission has revealed possible signs of tectonic activity on Venus. This discovery is surprising, for Venus doesn't have tectonic plates like Earth.
But latest research based on data collected 30 years ago suggests that Venus' surface is still actively changing, likely because of molten material rising beneath its crust.
The new study, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and published in the journal Science Advances, claimed that the scientists found special round features on the planet called coronae, often found in places where hot, buoyant material from the planet's mantle rises on the surface.
According to NASA, the scientists studied these features using the Magellan mission, which orbited Venus in the 1990s.
Study's lead author, Gael Cascioli, assistant research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, said that coronae are not found on Earth now; they may have existed when the planet was young and before plate tectonics were established.
He said that using both gravity data and topography data, scientists were able to get a better idea of things happening beneath the surface of Venus and gave them important insights about the changing surface of the planet.
According to NASA, Magellan used its radar to see through Venus's thick atmosphere and map the planet's surface, including its mountains and plains. At that time, scientists weren't aware of how these coronae were formed. Over the years, they have noticed that they usually appear in areas where Venus's lithosphere is thin and heat flow is high.
Anna Gulcher, Earth and planetary scientist at the University of Bern in Switzerland and co-author of the study, said that coronae were abundant on Venus, adding they have large features, and people have proposed multiple theories over the years about how they formed.
Although current images from Venus show signs of volcanic activity, they are not detailed enough to explain how coronae are formed. To provide a clear understanding of the situation, NASA reports that it is coming up with the VERITAS mission, which will use advanced tools like a radar system, a near-infrared tool, and a radio system.
