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The very first visible-light images of Venus' surface from space have been captured by NASA's Parker Solar Probe, and it could help researchers piece together the mysteries of the distant planet.
The global surface of Venus was first mapped by the Magellan orbiter during 1990–1991 with 50 km spatial and 100 m vertical resolution. During three orbit regimes, the surface images were transmitted back to the Earth. These three orbiting motions of the spacecraft are called mapping cycle 1, 2 and 3.
Surface of Venus from Venera 13. In 1982, the Soviet Venera 13 sent the first colour image of Venus's surface, revealing an orange-brown flat bedrock surface covered with loose regolith and small flat thin angular rocks, [45] and analysed the X-ray fluorescence of an excavated soil sample. The probe operated for a record 127 minutes on the ...
The surface of Venus is comparatively flat. When 93% of the topography was mapped by Pioneer Venus Orbiter, scientists found that the total distance from the lowest point to the highest point on the entire surface was about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), about the same as the vertical distance between the Earth's ocean floor and the higher summits of the Himalayas.
Venera 13 provided the first color images and X-ray fluorescence data of the surface of the planet. After analyzing the radar images returned from Venera 15 and 16, it was concluded that the ridges and grooves on the surface of Venus were the result of tectonic deformations. [18] This was found by radar imaging while in orbit.
The surface of Venus is dominated by geologic features that include volcanoes, large impact craters, and aeolian erosion and sedimentation landforms. Venus has a topography reflecting its single, strong crustal plate, with a unimodal elevation distribution (over 90% of the surface lies within an elevation of -1.0 and 2.5 km) [1] that preserves geologic structures for long periods of time.
Color-coded elevation map, showing the elevated terrae "continents" in yellow and minor features of Venus. The Venusian surface was a subject of speculation until some of its secrets were revealed by probes in the 20th century. Venera landers in 1975 and 1982 returned images of a surface covered in sediment and relatively angular rocks. [36]
The radar images from the Magellan missions revealed that the terrestrial style of plate tectonics is not active on Venus and the surface currently appears to be immobile. [6] Despite these surface observations, there are numerous surface features that indicate an actively convecting interior.