Venus's Hidden Lava Tube: A Kilometer-Wide Gateway Beneath Nix Mons

We dive into a Nature Communications study by Leonardo Carrer and team that reuses Magellan radar data to reveal a colossal skylight and subterranean lava-tube system in Venus's western flank of Nix Mons. The radar signature—a shadow on one side and an interior reflection that penetrates beyond the rim—points to a roughly 1-kilometer-wide conduit with at least 375 meters of hollow space, possibly extending tens of kilometers. The finding implies Venus hosted fluid, low-viscosity basaltic lava forming extensive tubes, and upcoming missions like EnVision and VERITAS could map these networks with subsurface radar sounders, opening a window into Venus's hidden geology.

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