Scientists analyzing decades-old data from NASA’s Magellan mission say they have identified what appears to be a giant underground tunnel carved out by volcanic activity on Venus.
If confirmed, the structure will be marked Only the second time Lava tubes have been reported Venus, In addition to similar discoveries on the Moon, Mars.
“Our knowledge about Venus is still limited, and until now we have not had the opportunity to directly observe the processes occurring beneath the surface of Earth’s twin planet,” study co-author Lorenzo Bruzzone from the University of Trento in Italy said in a statement.
“The identification of volcanic cavities is therefore particularly important, as it allows us to test theories whose existence was only hypothesized for many years,” he added.
Venus is always covered in dense clouds, making it impossible to see its surface directly, forcing scientists to rely on radar images to study the planet’s geology. From 1990 to 1992, NASA Magellan orbit ship They mapped much of Venus’ surface using a radar system designed specifically for the purpose, creating a vast archive of images that researchers continue to analyze.
Magellan’s radar mapped Venus by sending radio waves toward the planet’s surface and measuring the time it took for the signals to return, allowing scientists to create detailed maps of the surface. These maps revealed a chain of long holes, or areas of collapse, on the surface. Some of them extend tens to thousands of miles, suggesting the existence of underground lava tubes across Venus’ surface, the study said.
In the new study, Bruzzone and his team focused on localized surface collapses that occur when a section of rock collapses, creating a skylight-like opening that can expose underground cavities. One such feature, located on the western flank of Mount Nix, one of the 1,600 major volcanoes and nearly 1 million smaller volcanoes that dominate Venus’ surface, produced a unique radar pattern that closely matched signatures known to originate from the roofs of collapsed lava tubes, the study said.
Analysis of the surrounding terrain suggests the conduit may extend tens of kilometers underground, but only part of the structure has been seen so far, Bourzon said in a statement.
New observations will be needed to confirm its full size, shape and stability, he added.
That opportunity may come soon. a Fleet of upcoming missions The probe to Venus is expected to carry more advanced radar equipment capable of capturing high-resolution images. For example, studying underground cavities is a primary goal of an instrument called the Subsurface Radar Sounder (SRS) planned for the EnVision mission. under development Created by the European Space Agency, it is capable of penetrating the surface of a planet to a depth of several hundred meters.
The instrument “could probe Venus’s subsurface to depths of hundreds of meters and potentially detect conduits even when there are no openings on the surface,” Bruzzone said in a statement.
“Our findings are therefore just the beginning of a long and interesting research effort.”
Regarding this research, paper The study was published in Nature Communications on February 9th.