Venus is younger than Mars, still has active volcanoes like Earth: Study

Venus is supposedly younger and emerged much later after the formation of our nearest neighbour Mars, said a group of scientists who examined active volcano sites of the former. Published in the journal Solar System Research, the conclusion was jointly arrived on by a team of scientists from Russia, Spain, Finland, Italy, and Spain. The scientists are currently focused on Venus' young volcanic sites that will also be targeted for future orbital and in-situ measurements revealed the study.

Volcanoes point towards younger age

The focus of the researchers was primarily Venus' Imdr region, where sits the volcano 'Idunn Mons' having a diameter of 200 km. Upon analyzing the area, the scientists found via the VIRTIS spectrometer, that the age of the surface in this area ranges somewhere between 2.5 million years to just 2,50,000 years. The scientists found another solid support to their conclusion. They found that the targeted region had lower wind speeds at the lower boundary of Venus' cloud layer caused by volcanic activities in younger areas. Based on their overall observations, the scientists concluded Venus to be young, whereas the red planet Mars might be around for billions of years. According to Roscosmos, indirect evidence suggests that Venusian volcanoes and tectonic plates are still active along with the interior of the planet. It further stated that analysis of data from orbiters operating near Venus, in particular, shows that in areas of young volcanic heights, the age of the surface may be much less than the generally accepted 500 million years.

Through this attempt, scientists are trying to understand Venus' anatomy and what happened to it in the past along with the activities currently happening on its surface. The analysis has presented hints that volcanic activities are still ongoing in some areas that should be targeted for future investigations. Previous research led by Universities Space Research Association (USRA) had also found the presence of lava flowing on Venus surface which may be only a few years old. This discovery had hinted that younger planets like Earth and Venus are the only ones having active volcanoes. 

India's quest to Venus in 2023

India's own mission Shukrayaan-1 is scheduled to depart for the hot planet in 2023. The mission aims to explore in its Venus mission include surface, subsurface, and atmosphere of the planet, as well as its interaction with the Sun. Earlier in 2018, ISRO had invited proposals from the international scientific community to carry out novel experiments for the mission.

(Image: PTI)