For many years, scientists believed Venus was a dead world with little or no geological activity. Although it is Earth’s closest planetary neighbor, Venus is an extremely hostile place.
Surface temperatures are hot enough to melt lead, the atmosphere is incredibly thick, and the pressure is about 90 times greater than on Earth.
There are no oceans, forests, or signs of life as we know it.
But a new study suggests that beneath its harsh surface, Venus may still be an active and changing planet.
Researchers from ETH Zurich have used an advanced computer model to show that some of the giant cracks stretching across Venus may have formed much more recently than scientists once thought.
Their findings, published in Nature Geoscience, add to growing evidence that the planet is still geologically alive and may even have active volcanoes today.
The research was led by Professor Taras Gerya and master’s student Xi Yang from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich.
One of the biggest clues comes from huge geological features called rift valleys. These long cracks form when a planet’s crust is pulled apart by forces deep inside. On Earth, the famous East African Rift Valley is an example of this process. On Venus, however, some rift valleys are far larger, stretching for up to 10,000 kilometers.
Scientists have long assumed these features formed more than 100 million years ago and have remained unchanged ever since. However, the new study challenges that idea.
Using a detailed three-dimensional computer model, the researchers recreated how rift valleys could develop on Venus. Unlike earlier models, which were simpler and mostly two-dimensional, the new simulations provided a much more realistic picture of how the planet’s crust behaves.
The simulations showed that young or still-active rift valleys develop broad, raised edges known as rift flanks. These elevated areas remain steep while the crust is moving but gradually flatten after the activity stops. On Venus, this flattening happens because the crust slowly relaxes under its own weight rather than being worn down by rain, rivers, or wind, since the planet has no liquid water.
The model also found that these rifts may spread much faster than previously believed, widening by about three to ten centimeters each year.
When the researchers compared their results with images collected by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft in the 1990s, they found that many of the rift valleys on Venus still have the steep, high flanks expected of relatively young geological features. This suggests that parts of the planet may still be tectonically active today.
The findings could help scientists identify the most active regions to study during upcoming missions. Both NASA and the European Space Agency are preparing new spacecraft to explore Venus in greater detail during the early 2030s. One of these, ESA’s EnVision mission, will examine the planet from its deep interior to its upper atmosphere.
Beyond helping scientists understand Venus itself, the research could also improve our understanding of how rocky planets evolve, including distant Earth-like worlds orbiting other stars.
