Tomsk: Tomsk State University in Russia announced the creation of the first detailed geological map of Venus’s Phoebe Regio, designed to assist in identifying potential landing sites for spacecraft on future missions to the planet. The map will be crucial for selecting landing locations for spacecraft intended to collect soil samples from Venus. It is particularly valuable for the upcoming Russian “Venera-D” mission, which aims to study the planet’s surface composition.

According to Qatar News Agency, this map results from collaboration between scientists at Tomsk State University’s Geophysics Institute and their counterparts in Canada and the United States. The Phoebe Regio was chosen due to its distinctive volcanic structures and rocky formations. Ekaterina Antropova, a professor at Tomsk State University, explained that the new map will help researchers study Venus’s geological features and provide insights into the planet’s tectonic plate movements and volcanic activity.