Surface geologic features form a detailed record of Venus’ evolution. Venus displays a profusion of volcanic and tectonics features, including both familiar and exotic forms. One challenge to assessing the role of these features in Venus’ evolution is that there are too few impact craters to permit age dates for specific features or regions. Similarly, without surface water, erosion is limited and cannot be used to evaluate age. These same observations indicate Venus has, on average, a very young surface (150–1000 Ma), with the most recent surface deformation and volcanism largely preserved on the surface except where covered by limited impact ejecta. In contrast, most geologic activity on Mars, the Moon, and Mercury occurred in the 1st billion years. Earth’s geologic processes are almost all a result of plate tectonics. Venus’ lacks such a network of connected, large scale plates, leaving the nature of Venus’ dominant geodynamic process up for debate. In this review article, we describe Venus’ key volcanic and tectonic features, models for their origin, and possible links to evolution. We also present current knowledge of the composition and thickness of the crust, lithospheric thickness, and heat flow given their critical role in shaping surface geology and interior evolution. Given Venus’ hot lithosphere, abundant activity and potential analogues of continents, roll-back subduction, and microplates, it may provide insights into early Earth, prior to the onset of true plate tectonics. We explore similarities and differences between Venus and the Proterozoic or Archean Earth. Finally, we describe the future measurements needed to advance our understanding of volcanism, tectonism, and the evolution of Venus.

The South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin is the oldest and largest visible impact structure on the Moon, making it a high priority science site for exploration missions. The 492 km diameter Apollo peak-ring basin is one of the youngest and largest basins within the SPA basin. We selected three regions of interest (ROIs) in the Apollo basin for which the landing and operational hazards are minimized and evaluated their science and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) potential. We examined topography, slope, crater density, rock abundance, geologic mapping, mineralogy, and inferred subsurface stratigraphy within each ROI. The results show that the terrain is safe for landing without precision landing (within a few hundred meters). The mare materials have high ISRU potential with relatively high FeO (∼16–20 wt%) and TiO _2 (∼3–10 wt%) contents. Two robotic exploration mission architectures were examined for their scientific potential: (1) lander and rover with a dedicated payload suite and (2) the same architecture with sample return capability. In situ observations can address six of seven National Research Council concepts (1–3, 5–7) and Campaigns 1 and 5 of the European Space Agency’s Strategy for Science at the Moon.

Surface mineralogy records the primary composition, climate history and the geochemical cycling between the surface and atmosphere. We have not yet directly measured mineralogy on the Venus surface in situ, but a variety of independent investigations yield a basic understanding of surface composition and weathering reactions in the present era where rocks react under a supercritical atmosphere dominated by CO 2 , N 2 and SO 2 at ∼460 °C and 92 bars. The primary composition of the volcanic plains that cover ∼80% of the surface is inferred to be basaltic, as measured by the 7 Venera and Vega landers and consistent with morphology. These landers also recorded elevated SO 3 values, low rock densities and spectral signatures of hematite consistent with chemical weathering under an oxidizing environment. Thermodynamic modeling and laboratory experiments under present day atmospheric conditions predict and demonstrate reactions where Fe, Ca, Na in rocks react primarily with S species to form sulfates, sulfides and oxides. Variations in surface emissivity at ∼1 μm detected by the VIRTIS instrument on the Venus Express orbiter are spatially correlated to geologic terrains. Laboratory measurements of the near-infrared (NIR) emissivity of geologic materials at Venus surface temperatures confirms theoretical predictions that 1 μm emissivity is directly related to Fe 2+ content in minerals. These data reveal regions of high emissivity that may indicate unweathered and recently erupted basalts and low emissivity associated with tessera terrain that may indicate felsic materials formed during a more clement era. Magellan radar emissivity also constrain mineralogy as this parameter is inversely related to the type and volume of high dielectric minerals, likely to have formed due to surface/atmosphere reactions. The observation of both viscous and low viscosity volcanic flows in Magellan images may also be related to composition. The global NIR emissivity and high-resolution radar and topography collected by the VERITAS, EnVision and DAVINCI missions will provide a revolutionary advancement of these methods and our understanding of Venus mineralogy. Critically, these datasets must be supported with both laboratory experiments to constrain the style and rate weathering reactions and laboratory measurements of their NIR emissivity and radar characteristics at Venus conditions.

The conducted research showed the ways and conditions for increasing the level of independence and self-organization of students leading to the formation and development of their subjective position in the educational activities of the university. In the process of experimental work, the following results were achieved: the number of students with a low (subjective-imitational) level decreased by 61%, while figures for a medium (subjective-presentational) level doubled, and those for a high (subjectivecreative) level increased by 48%.

Venus is almost as large as Earth and has both thermal and compositional potential for long-lasting volcanic activity, in contrast to the smaller terrestrial planets. Extrusive volcanic materials make up about 80% of the surface of the planet and its volcanic landforms range from small (several kilometers in diameter) to large (tens- to a few hundreds of kilometers across) volcanic constructs to volcanic plains thousands of kilometers in extent. The CO2 atmosphere of Venus is dense and its pressure at the surface is nearly 100 times that of Earth (or equivalent to pressures at about 1 km depth in the sea). The high pressure inhibits gas exsolution, magma disruption, and pyroclastic volcanism. The surface temperatures are high enough (~770 K) to potentially increase the time of cooling of magmatic bodies in near subsurface and lava flows on the surface. In contrast to the terrestrial plate tectonics, a hot spot style of volcanism, which is characteristic of the intraplate areas on Earth, prevails on Venus. In this style, heat is released by advection in isolated volcanoes distributed over the surface; the majority of the heat is currently lost by conduction through the lithosphere. Two major classes of volcanic features have been identified on Venus. (1) Features in which effusive characteristics are most important are volcanic plains, edifices, steep-sided domes, and channels. Among these landforms, plains are the most important and make up ~76% of the surface of Venus. (2) Coronae, arachnoids, and novae represent magmatic features that are dominated by tectonic structures with relatively minor effusive characteristics. Strongly deformed (densely lineated and ridged plains), mildly deformed (shield and regional plains), and non-deformed plains (smooth and lobate plains) compose three major types of volcanic plains on Venus. Regional plains represent the most extensive unit that makes up about 40% of the surface of the planet. Volcanic constructs and channels usually associate with a specific type of volcanic plains: small volcanoes and most of the steep-sided domes belong to shield plains, lava channels characterize regional and lobate plains, large shield volcanoes make a significant portion of lobate plains. The main volcanic plains on Venus display consistent relationships of relative ages among each other at the global scale: shield plains postdate strongly deformed units and predate regional plains; lobate plains overlay structures of regional plains. These stratigraphic relationships consistent are consistent at the global scale and allow division of the visible portion of the geologic history of Venus into three regimes of resurfacing during which specific types of endogenous activity dominated. (1) The majority of the tectonized terrains (e.g., densely lineated and ridged plains) define the first, tectonically dominated, regime. During this time, large regions of thickened crust (tesserae) were formed; a limited contraction and possible underthrusting along specific zones resulted in formation of ridge and mountain belts. The later phases of the ancient tectonic regime were manifested by the mutual development of groove belts and many coronae. All tectonized terrains of the first regime represent local- to regional topographic highs in the background topography. (2) During the second, volcanically dominated regime, the vast plains such as shield plains and regional plains were emplaced preferentially in regional lows. The density of craters on regional plains suggests that the first two regimes (tectonic and volcanic) operated during about the first one-third of the observable history. (3) Contemporaneous lobate plains and rift zones define the third, network rifting-volcanism regime. This regime dominated the last two-thirds of the observable geologic history and is linked to the later stages of evolution of the dome-shaped rises.

Geological and mineralogical research were conducted by the scanning probe microscopy and showed that in plagioclase pegmatites of North Baikal muscovite province the average thickness of the peristerites increases from early graphic zones to late trochlear zones and pegmatoid zones of pegmatite veins. The thickness reaches a maximum in the pegmatites of pegmatoid structure which contain large-crystalline muscovite. This regularity can be used for development mineralogical criteria for evaluation of pegmatite veins productivity at the large size muscovite source.