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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
New research suggests vast surface features on Venus called coronae continue to be shaped by tectonic processes. Observations of these features from NASA’s Magellan mission include, clockwise from top left, Artemis Corona, Quetzalpetlatl Corona, Bahet Corona, and Aine Corona.NASA/JPL-Caltech Using archival data from the mission, launched in 1989, researchers have uncovered new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the planet’s surface.
Vast, quasi-circular features on Venus’ surface may reveal that the planet has ongoing tectonics, according to new research based on data gathered more than 30 years ago by NASA’s Magellan mission. On Earth, the planet’s surface is continually renewed by the constant shifting and recycling of massive sections of crust, called tectonic plates, that float atop a viscous interior. Venus doesn’t have tectonic plates, but its surface is still being deformed by molten material from below.
Seeking to better understand the underlying processes driving these deformations, the researchers studied a type of feature called a corona. Ranging in size from dozens to hundreds of miles across, a corona is most often thought to be the location where a plume of hot, buoyant material from the planet’s mantle rises, pushing against the lithosphere above. (The lithosphere includes the planet’s crust and the uppermost part of its mantle.) These structures are usually oval, with a concentric fracture system surrounding them. Hundreds of coronae are known to exist on Venus.
Published in the journal Science Advances, the new study details newly discovered signs of activity at or beneath the surface shaping many of Venus’ coronae, features that may also provide a unique window into Earth’s past. The researchers found the evidence of this tectonic activity within data from NASA’s Magellan mission, which orbited Venus in the 1990s and gathered the most detailed gravity and topography data on the planet currently available.
“Coronae are not found on Earth today; however, they may have existed when our planet was young and before plate tectonics had been established,” said the study’s lead author, Gael Cascioli, assistant research scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “By combining gravity and topography data, this research has provided a new and important insight into the possible subsurface processes currently shaping the surface of Venus.”
This artist’s concept of the large Quetzalpetlatl Corona located in Venus’ southern hemisphere depicts active volcanism and a subduction zone, where the foreground crust plunges into the planet’s interior. A new study suggests coronae are the locations of several types of tectonic activity.NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin As members of NASA’s forthcoming VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) mission, Cascioli and his team are particularly interested in the high-resolution gravity data the spacecraft will provide. Study coauthor Erwan Mazarico, also at Goddard, will co-lead the VERITAS gravity experiment when the mission launches no earlier than 2031.
Mystery Coronae
Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Magellan used its radar system to see through Venus’ thick atmosphere and map the topography of its mountains and plains. Of the geological features the spacecraft mapped, coronae were perhaps the most enigmatic: It wasn’t clear how they formed. In the years since, scientists have found many coronae in locations where the planet’s lithosphere is thin and heat flow is high.
“Coronae are abundant on Venus. They are very large features, and people have proposed different theories over the years as to how they formed,” said coauthor Anna Gülcher, Earth and planetary scientist at the University of Bern in Switzerland. “The most exciting thing for our study is that we can now say there are most likely various and ongoing active processes driving their formation. We believe these same processes may have occurred early in Earth’s history.”
The researchers developed sophisticated 3D geodynamic models that demonstrate various formation scenarios for plume-induced coronae and compared them with the combined gravity and topography data from Magellan. The gravity data proved crucial in helping the researchers detect less dense, hot, and buoyant plumes under the surface — information that couldn’t be discerned from topography data alone. Of the 75 coronae studied, 52 appear to have buoyant mantle material beneath them that is likely driving tectonic processes.
One key process is subduction: On Earth, it happens when the edge of one tectonic plate is driven beneath the adjacent plate. Friction between the plates can generate earthquakes, and as the old rocky material dives into the hot mantle, the rock melts and is recycled back to the surface via volcanic vents.
These illustrations depict various types of tectonic activity thought to persist beneath Venus’ coronae. Lithospheric dripping and subduction are shown at top; below are and two scenarios where hot plume material rises and pushes against the lithosphere, potentially driving volcanism above it.Anna Gülcher, CC BY-NC On Venus, a different kind of subduction is thought to occur around the perimeter of some coronae. In this scenario, as a buoyant plume of hot rock in the mantle pushes upward into the lithosphere, surface material rises and spreads outward, colliding with surrounding surface material and pushing that material downward into the mantle.
Another tectonic process known as lithospheric dripping could also be present, where dense accumulations of comparatively cool material sink from the lithosphere into the hot mantle. The researchers also identify several places where a third process may be taking place: A plume of molten rock beneath a thicker part of the lithosphere potentially drives volcanism above it.
Deciphering Venus
This work marks the latest instance of scientists returning to Magellan data to find that Venus exhibits geologic processes that are more Earth-like than originally thought. Recently, researchers were able to spot erupting volcanoes, including vast lava flows that vented from Maat Mons, Sif Mons, and Eistla Regio in radar images from the orbiter.
While those images provided direct evidence of volcanic action, the authors of the new study will need sharper resolution to draw a complete picture about the tectonic processes driving corona formation. “The VERITAS gravity maps of Venus will boost the resolution by at least a factor of two to four, depending on location — a level of detail that could revolutionize our understanding of Venus’ geology and implications for early Earth,” said study coauthor Suzanne Smrekar, a planetary scientist at JPL and principal investigator for VERITAS.
Managed by JPL, VERITAS will use a synthetic aperture radar to create 3D global maps and a near-infrared spectrometer to figure out what the surface of Venus is made of. Using its radio tracking system, the spacecraft will also measure the planet’s gravitational field to determine the structure of Venus’ interior. All of these instruments will help pinpoint areas of activity on the surface.
For more information about NASA’s VERITAS mission, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/veritas/
News Media Contacts
Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated May 14, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
NASA Study Reveals Venus Crust Surprise
This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 180 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech New details about the crust on Venus include some surprises about the geology of Earth’s hotter twin, according to new NASA-funded research that describes movements of the planet’s crust.
Scientists expected the outermost layer of Venus’ crust would grow thicker and thicker over time given its apparent lack of forces that would drive the crust back into the planet’s interior. But the paper, published in Nature Communications, proposes a crust metamorphism process based on rock density and melting cycles.
Earth’s rocky crust is made up of massive plates that slowly move, forming folds and faults in a process known as plate tectonics. For example, when two plates collide, the lighter plate slides on top of the denser one, forcing it downward into the layer beneath it, the mantle. This process, known as subduction, helps control the thickness of Earth’s crust. The rocks making up the bottom plate experience changes caused by increasing temperature and pressure as it sinks deeper into the interior of the planet. Those changes are known as metamorphism, which is one cause of volcanic activity.
In contrast, Venus has a crust that is all one piece, with no evidence for subduction caused by plate tectonics like on Earth, explained Justin Filiberto, deputy chief of NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and a co-author on the paper. The paper used modeling to determine that its crust is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) thick on average and at most 40 miles (65 kilometers) thick.
“That is surprisingly thin, given conditions on the planet,” said Filiberto. “It turns out that, according to our models, as the crust grows thicker, the bottom of it becomes so dense that it either breaks off and becomes part of the mantle or gets hot enough to melt.” So, while Venus has no moving plates, its crust does experience metamorphism. This finding is an important step toward understanding geological processes and evolution of the planet.
“This breaking off or melting can put water and elements back into the planet’s interior and help drive volcanic activity,” added Filiberto. “This gives us a new model for how material returns to the interior of the planet and another way to make lava and spur volcanic eruptions. It resets the playing field for how the geology, crust, and atmosphere on Venus work together.”
The next step, he added, is to gather direct data about Venus’ crust to test and refine these models. Several upcoming missions, including NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) and VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) and, in partnership with ESA (European Space Agency), Envision, aim to study the planet’s surface and atmosphere in greater detail. These efforts could help confirm whether processes like metamorphism and recycling are actively shaping the Venusian crust today—and reveal how such activity may be tied to volcanic and atmospheric evolution.
“We don’t actually know how much volcanic activity is on Venus,” Filiberto said. “We assume there is a lot, and research says there should be, but we’d need more data to know for sure.”
Melissa Gaskill
NASA Johnson Space Center
Media Contacts:
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Victoria Segovia
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
281-483-5111
victoria.segovia@nasa.gov
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Last Updated May 09, 2025 Related Terms
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By USH
Time and again, discoveries emerge that challenge our understanding of human history, yet mainstream institutions often ignore or dismiss them. Case in point: Gunung Padang in Indonesia and Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.
Gunung Padang, a massive megalithic structure in West Java, sits atop an extinct volcano. New research suggests it could be the world’s oldest pyramid, dating back 25,000 to 14,000 years ago, deep into the last Ice Age.
If accurate, this would place it tens of thousands of years before the Egyptian pyramids and older than Göbekli Tepe, the 12,000-year-old site in Turkey already known for defying conventional history.
Advanced scanning has revealed multiple layers of construction, some possibly as old as 27,000 years, with underground chambers still largely unexplored. And yet, despite the groundbreaking implications, Gunung Padang remains shrouded in silence.
Excavations have slowed. Access is restricted. Even more oddly, global policy organizations like the World Economic Forum’s “Global Shapers” have ties to site oversight. Why would an economic think tank be involved in an ancient archaeological dig?
The mystery runs deeper than stone. It touches on power, control, and narrative.
If humanity was building advanced structures during or before the Ice Age—long before agriculture, it rewrites everything we think we know: Who we are - Where we come from - What we’re truly capable of.
Accepting this would force a total overhaul of textbooks, academic models, and career-long assumptions. Institutions resist this not out of malice, but self-preservation.
There’s a deeper reason: that certain knowledge is intentionally suppressed, to maintain control, avoid disruption, and keep ancient technologies hidden.
Because if ancient civilizations, eventually with the help of advanced extraterrestrial races, once building advanced structures, achieved clean energy, global cooperation, or cosmic insight and then lost it, we’re not the pinnacle of progress.
If knowledge is power, then controlling history is the ultimate power, keeping us in the dark about our origins, like a civilization suffering from amnesia.
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 3 min read
Sols 4502-4504: Sneaking Past Devil’s Gate
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the terrain around it on April 3, 2025, showing a small ridgeline on the right side, “Devil’s Gate,” and the base of Texoli butte, visible on the left side of the image. Curiosity acquired the image using its Left Navigation Camera on Sol 4500, or Martian day 4,500 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, at 23:08:35 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Michelle Minitti, Planetary Geologist at Framework
Earth planning date: Friday, April 4, 2025
We continue to make progress driving up Mount Sharp, each day gaining new perspectives on the spectacular, towering buttes surrounding our path. To get to the next canyon we can ascend, we have to swing around the north end of a small ridgeline, “Devil’s Gate,” which is on the right side of the image above.
The blocks scattered around the base of Devil’s Gate are ripe with interesting structures, which motivated the acquisition of an RMI mosaic across the ridge. Those blocks are also inconvenient for driving and parking the rover with all six wheels firmly on the ground, the latter of which is needed to be able to unstow the arm for APXS and MAHLI observations. Our last drive ended with our front wheels not quite on solid ground, so we had to forego arm work this weekend. But as you can imagine with the view around us, Devil’s Gate was not the only feature that the team was excited to image. ChemCam added a second RMI mosaic along the base of “Texoli” butte, which you can see the flank of on the left side of the image above. Mastcam planned a mosaic across an expanse of bedrock that looks like rolling waves frozen in place at “Maidenhair Falls.”
The rocks right in front of the rover were also wonderfully complex in their textures and structures. ChemCam targeted two different textures expressed in the workspace — one across fine layers at “Arroyo Burro” and one across rough, platy, and gray material at “Arroyo Conejo.” Mastcam documented the block containing both these targets with a stereo mosaic that will give us a three-dimensional view of its structures.
We planned a drive to get us further around the base of Devil’s Gate, after which we will acquire an autonomously-targeted ChemCam LIBS raster and early morning Navcam and Mastcam mosaics looking back on the path we have recently traveled. DAN is scheduled for about seven hours of data collecting across the plan, both during science blocks and our drive. The sky gets a lot of attention in this plan with suites of observations taken at two different times — near midday and early morning — to assess variability across the day. Each window of time had Navcam dust-devil and cloud movies, and measurements of the amount of dust in the atmosphere. The early morning block of observations also had multiple cloud movies cover the full sky. REMS and RAD have regular measurements across the sols.
See you Monday, when we are a bit farther past Devil’s Gate!
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Last Updated Apr 07, 2025 Related Terms
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