Sep 25, 2025 08:27 PM
https://www.zmescience.com/space/venus-i...n-expected
EXCERPT: Lava tubes are familiar on Earth. They form when the surface of a lava flow hardens while molten rock continues to drain beneath, leaving behind a hollow conduit. On the Moon and Mars, weaker gravity lets them sprawl even larger. Scientists thought that rule of thumb — less gravity, bigger tubes — was universal. Venus just broke it.
Venus has nearly the same gravity as Earth. Its tubes should be modest, not Moon-sized. But De Toffoli’s team found the opposite. By combining radar imagery and mapping data from past missions, they identified four sinuous pit chains near giant shield volcanoes. These pits lined up with volcanic slopes, exactly where lava would have flowed. Their depth-to-width ratios matched those of collapsed lava tubes, not tectonic fractures.
The sheer scale floored the researchers. Volumes inferred from the collapsed pits rival those of lunar tubes, suggesting Venus may host some of the largest subsurface cavities in the solar system. “This is already giving away the fact that there’s likely something more on Venus playing a significant role,” De Toffoli said.
What Could Be Making These Cavities So Big? One explanation could be Venus’s extreme environment. With crushing surface pressures and temperatures hot enough to melt lead, lava may behave differently than anywhere else. De Toffoli suggested that “due to the very high pressure, there’s an overall flattening out of the tubes, instead of having a very intense erosion at the floor that usually happens on other planets,” according to New Scientist.
That would mean Venusian lava tubes are not just anomalies — they are windows into how volcanism adapts under alien physics. They could also help explain how the planet’s surface transformed into a volcanic wasteland.
The discovery comes with practical stakes too. On the Moon and Mars, space agencies eye lava tubes as natural bunkers for future astronauts. On Venus, where surface missions fry in hours, such cavities could someday be targets for robotic explorers or even imagined refuges in the distant future... (MORE - missing details)
https://youtu.be/YqX1Oy8aL5c
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/YqX1Oy8aL5c
EXCERPT: Lava tubes are familiar on Earth. They form when the surface of a lava flow hardens while molten rock continues to drain beneath, leaving behind a hollow conduit. On the Moon and Mars, weaker gravity lets them sprawl even larger. Scientists thought that rule of thumb — less gravity, bigger tubes — was universal. Venus just broke it.
Venus has nearly the same gravity as Earth. Its tubes should be modest, not Moon-sized. But De Toffoli’s team found the opposite. By combining radar imagery and mapping data from past missions, they identified four sinuous pit chains near giant shield volcanoes. These pits lined up with volcanic slopes, exactly where lava would have flowed. Their depth-to-width ratios matched those of collapsed lava tubes, not tectonic fractures.
The sheer scale floored the researchers. Volumes inferred from the collapsed pits rival those of lunar tubes, suggesting Venus may host some of the largest subsurface cavities in the solar system. “This is already giving away the fact that there’s likely something more on Venus playing a significant role,” De Toffoli said.
What Could Be Making These Cavities So Big? One explanation could be Venus’s extreme environment. With crushing surface pressures and temperatures hot enough to melt lead, lava may behave differently than anywhere else. De Toffoli suggested that “due to the very high pressure, there’s an overall flattening out of the tubes, instead of having a very intense erosion at the floor that usually happens on other planets,” according to New Scientist.
That would mean Venusian lava tubes are not just anomalies — they are windows into how volcanism adapts under alien physics. They could also help explain how the planet’s surface transformed into a volcanic wasteland.
The discovery comes with practical stakes too. On the Moon and Mars, space agencies eye lava tubes as natural bunkers for future astronauts. On Venus, where surface missions fry in hours, such cavities could someday be targets for robotic explorers or even imagined refuges in the distant future... (MORE - missing details)
https://youtu.be/YqX1Oy8aL5c