In order to find an answer, all aspects of Venus must be thoroughly examined, including the changes in its appearance over time. While Earth has plate tectonics that shape its surface with diverse features like volcanoes and mountain ranges, Venus does not have this process. However, a recent study suggests that Venus may have a unique variation of plate tectonics, where blocks of its surface have shifted and twisted, altering their surroundings. 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, which was the agency’s final mission to Venus. In the early 1990s, radar technology was used to penetrate the planet’s thick atmosphere and create a detailed map of its entire surface. Upon revisiting these maps, scientists identified 58 campi spread out across the planet’s lowlands that are covered in lava. 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 Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at North Carolina State University and the lead author of the study, the campi on Venus were likely created by being dragged around by the flowing mantle below, similar to pack ice. This movement would have caused the ground to either crumple up and form mountains if moving towards immobile land, or stretch and create grooves if moving away. The campi moving side-to-side would have left strain marks and etchings along the boundaries. The fact that this deformation occurred in the lowlands of Venus is significant. The lava covering these landscapes is estimated to be between 750 and 150 million years old, making them some of the youngest on the planet. This suggests that the tectonic activity that formed these features 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. Using advanced radar systems, these orbiters will provide high-resolution images of the landscapes, allowing scientists to determine if any movement has occurred since the time of Magellan. If evidence shows that Venus is tectonically active, it would support the idea that Venus was once capable of plate tectonics due to the presence of a large amount of water. Plate tectonics help regulate the climate by moving carbon, preventing extreme global warming. However, catastrophic events like volcanic eruptions may have caused Venus to become a dry, inhospitable planet with inactive plate tectonics. Therefore, the planet's surface has been relatively stable for billions of years, but recent research suggests that there may have been more movement than previously thought. This discovery could have significant implications for understanding Venus's tectonic activity. Countless Earth- and Venus-size planets exist in the universe, and their tectonic activity will play a role in shaping their destinies. However, according to O'Rourke, it is essential to understand Earth and Venus in order to comprehend any rocky world in the solar system or beyond. Venus, with its many unexpected characteristics, presents a challenge to this task.