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3w ago

First Subsurface Lava Tube Detected on Venus in Reprocessed Magellan Radar

Reprocessed Magellan radar enabled the first direct view beneath Venus’s surface.

Artist's impression of the NASA Magellan spacecraft making radar observations of Venus, with the data indicating the presence of a subsurface lava tube in this handout image released on February 9, 2026. RSLab, University of Trento/Handout via REUTERS
image: ©3quarks | iStock
© RSLab, University of Trento
Magellan radar image of Venus displaying several pit chains and the identified skylight, marked as A, potentially providing access to the subsurface (i.e., empty void); the white arrow indicates the radar illumination direction. Image credit: NASA / Carrer et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-68643-6.

Overview

  • University of Trento researchers report the first subsurface feature identified on Venus, publishing the result in Nature Communications.
  • Analysis locates the empty cavity on the western flank of the Nyx Mons shield volcano, adjacent to a surface skylight seen in 1990–1992 Magellan SAR data.
  • Measurements indicate a conduit about 1 kilometer in diameter with a roof at least 150 meters thick and an empty void at least 375 meters high.
  • Only the segment near the skylight is directly constrained by the archival radar; terrain analysis suggests conduits could extend roughly 45 kilometers, a hypothesis awaiting verification.
  • Upcoming Venus missions—ESA’s EnVision with a subsurface radar sounder and NASA’s VERITAS with higher-resolution SAR—are expected to test and map these suspected lava tubes in detail.