In order to find an answer about Venus, it is necessary to thoroughly examine all aspects of the planet, including how its surface has changed over time. Unlike Earth, which has plate tectonics causing the movement of continent-sized pieces of land, Venus does not have this process. However, a recent study suggests that Venus may have a unique variation of this process, where blocks of its surface have shifted and twisted, altering their surroundings in the process. These dancing blocks, which are thin and flat slices of rock known as campi (Latin for "fields"), can range in size from as small as Ireland to as large as Alaska. They were discovered using data from NASA's Magellan orbiter mission, the agency's final exploration of Venus. In the early 1990s, radar technology was used to penetrate the planet's dense atmosphere and create a detailed map of its entire surface. Upon revisiting these maps, researchers identified 58 campi spread across the planet's lava-covered plains. These campi are surrounded by lines of small mountain ranges and grooves, which have been altered and marked by the passage of time. According to planetary scientist Paul Byrne from North Carolina State University, the campi on Venus were likely created by being pulled by the flowing mantle below, causing them to move like pack ice. This movement resulted in the formation of mountains when campi moved towards immobile land, grooves when moving away, and strain marks and etchings along boundaries when moving side-to-side. The fact that this deformation occurred in Venus' lowlands is important. The lava covering the landscapes is between 750 and 150 million years old, making them some of the youngest on the planet. This suggests that the tectonic activity in these areas occurred relatively recently in the history of the solar system. NASA's VERITAS and Europe's EnVision missions will investigate whether this tectonic activity is still ongoing. These missions will use advanced radar systems to closely study the landscapes and determine if any movement has occurred since the time of Magellan. If evidence shows that Venus is tectonically active, it will support the idea that Venus was once capable of plate tectonics due to having a significant amount of water in the past. This process of plate tectonics helps regulate the climate by cycling carbon and preventing extreme global warming. However, catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions, may have caused Venus to become a dry, inhospitable planet with inactive plate tectonics. Therefore, over the past billion years, the surface of the entire planet has been a single, motionless plate. However, this does not mean that the planet is completely still. Scientists, through missions like Magellan, have identified fault networks, rift zones, and mountain ridges - evidence of both ancient and more recent movement. If the findings of this new study are accurate and parts of Venus have been recently moving, it suggests that the planet's surface is more dynamic than previously thought. Joseph O'Rourke, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University, who was not involved in the study, stated that understanding why Venus has this unexpected tectonic activity would have significant implications. There are many Earth- and Venus-sized planets in the universe, and their tectonic activity will play a role in shaping their destinies. Understanding Earth and Venus is crucial in order to understand other rocky planets in our solar system and beyond, according to O'Rourke. Venus, with its many unexpected features, presents a challenge in this task.