Geology of Venus

Geology of Venus studies the planet’s surface materials, landforms, internal structure, and geological history. Its evidence comes chiefly from spacecraft imaging, radar mapping, and measurements of the atmosphere and gravity.

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Venus: Venus is the second planet from the Sun, with a dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere and a rocky surface. The planet’s extreme heat and atmospheric pressure shape what geology can occur and be observed.
Volcanism on Venus: Volcanism on Venus is the eruption and emplacement of molten rock and volcanic gases at the planet’s surface. Volcanic plains and edifices dominate interpretations of Venus’s geological activity.
Aphrodite Terra: Aphrodite Terra is a vast highland region near Venus’s equator, marked by ridges, fractures, and volcanic structures. Its scale and deformation make it a key example of Venusian highland geology.
Venera program: The Venera program was the Soviet series of missions that explored Venus with flybys, orbiters, landers, and atmospheric probes. Venera landers returned the first direct images and measurements from Venus’s surface.
Plate tectonics: Plate tectonics is the system in which rigid lithospheric plates move and interact at global boundaries. Venus lacks clear evidence for Earth’s global plate network, making its alternative heat-loss regime a central question.
Terrestrial planet: A terrestrial planet is a rocky world composed chiefly of silicate minerals and metals. Venus shares the broad rocky architecture of Earth, Mars, and Mercury.
Venusian tectonics: Venusian tectonics is the deformation and movement of the planet’s lithosphere without Earth-like global plate boundaries. Its fractured terrains and broad uplifts reveal how the crust responds to mantle forces.
Ishtar Terra: Ishtar Terra is a large northern Venusian highland containing Lakshmi Planum and the Maxwell Montes. Its mountains and plateau record major crustal shortening and uplift.
Magellan (spacecraft): Magellan was a NASA spacecraft that mapped most of Venus’s surface with synthetic-aperture radar from 1990 to 1994. Its global radar maps revealed the landforms underpinning modern geological interpretations.
Venusian resurfacing: Venusian resurfacing is the renewal of the planet’s surface through volcanic, tectonic, or impact-related processes. Whether resurfacing was gradual or catastrophic remains disputed and affects estimates of surface age.