Away Team Training: Analogs for VENus’ GEologically Recent Surfaces (AVENGERS) Initiative

Editor’s note: when it comes to conducting field trips – sorties – Away Team missions – on another world, astrogeology and astrobiology and astrochemistry overlap with one another all the time. The processes whereby humans and/or robots plan and then execute an examination of a planet’s surface focus on the peculiar aspects of the planet they are exploring – but they ay also incorporate ample flexibility for the discovery of unexpected things. This includes sampling, photography, cartography, geodesy, and ad hoc – on the spot – decision making by the astronauts – and not necessarily with Mission Control on Earth looking over their shoulders. Using analogs on Earth – locations that replicate or mock one or more aspects expected to be encountered offworld – is a proven way to develop planned and unplanned exploration by astronauts. Sometimes astronauts do the exploring in person. When distance or inhospitable conditions prevent onsite astronaut sorties then robots can fill in the gap. Either way, humans are in the loop and practicing on Earth helps prepare them for the unknown.

Several missions to Venus have recently been selected for launch, opening a new era for the exploration of the planet. A key question these missions seek to address is whether Venus is geologically active today. Detecting active volcanism on Venus would contribute to a better understanding of volcanic and atmospheric processes on Earth.

The Analogs for VENus’ GEologically Recent Surfaces (AVENGERS) initiative provides a comparative framework for the identification and analysis of terrestrial analog sites relevant to recent and possibly ongoing volcanic activity on Venus.

Although this review focuses on terrestrial analogs for Venus exploration, the AVENGERS initiative also includes investigations that use Venus and Earth as analogs to better understand the evolution of terrestrial exoplanets.

In addition, the AVENGERS initiative facilitates international collaboration by connecting Venus mission teams with the broader planetary and exoplanetary science communities. This review describes the scientific context of AVENGERS, details the selection criteria for terrestrial analog sites, and summarizes a set of suitable locations. Methodological approaches in analog studies that support the interpretation of Venus observations are also discussed.

IMAGE

(a) Scoria cones on the western flank of Mt. Etna. ESA Sentinel-1 A C-Band, GRDH SAR Ascending—Resolution ∼21 m. (b) Shield volcanoes in Imdr Regio—Venus. Magellan left-look SAR scene (S-band, total power HH pol), resolution ∼75 m. JGR Planets

The “Analogs for VENus’ GEologically Recent Surfaces” (AVENGERS) Initiative: Using Terrestrial Analogs to Study Recent Volcano-Tectonic Activity on Venus and Inform the Characterization of Terrestrial Exoplanets, JGR Planets (open access)

Astrobiology, Astrogeology,