Radar data reveals a lava cavity beneath the surface of Venus.

A recent study of radar data from Venus, obtained by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s, indicates a large cavity beneath Venus’s surface caused by lava flows. This is the first subsurface phenomenon discovered on Earth’s neighboring planet.

According to Reuters, researchers said the radar data is consistent with a geological feature called a lava tube, found in some volcanic sites on Earth. Lava tubes are also found on the Moon and are believed to exist on Mars.

Venus’s surface is covered with thick, toxic clouds that make it difficult to probe, but radar can penetrate the clouds.

Scientists have theorized that lava tubes exist on Venus given its volcanic history.

“The move from theory to direct observation is a big step forward, opens the door to new directions of research, and provides important information for future missions aimed at exploring the planet,” said Lorenzo Bruzzoni, a radar and planetary scientist at the University of Trento in Italy and lead author of the study published today in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers analyzed data obtained by the Synchrotron radar, a remote sensing instrument on the Magellan spacecraft, between 1990 and 1992 at sites showing signs of localized surface collapses indicating the presence of lava tubes beneath. They used a newly developed data analysis methodology designed to identify subsurface cavities such as lava tubes.

Venus has not received as much scientific attention as Mars, but two important missions are about to launch: ESPENSION by the European Space Agency and VERITA by NASA.

Both spacecraft will carry advanced radar systems capable of capturing high-resolution images. Invision will carry an orbiting radar capable of penetrating the surface and exploring the interior of Venus to a depth of several hundred meters.

Asharq -Al Awsat