News Planetary Science

Venus may be home to a new kind of tectonics

Jostling blocks of crust defy conventional wisdom on how the surfaces of rocky planets work

Venus' surface

MOVE IT  Venus may be more tectonically active than previously thought. The rocky planet’s surface is shown here in an image from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft.

USGS Astrogeology Science Center

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Venus’ crust is broken up into chunks that shuffle, jostle and rotate on a global scale, researchers reported in two talks March 20 at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.