NASA is working on a technique to detect earthquakes on Venus, the space agency writes. The researchers want to use balloons to explore Venus because the planet’s surface is extremely hot and inhospitable.
Using highly sensitive barometers, which detect changes in air pressure, NASA was able to detect a massive earthquake in California in 2019.
Between July 4 and 6 of that year, the US state was hit by a series of powerful earthquakes, which originated near Ridgecrest. Those quakes resulted in more than 10,000 aftershocks over a six-week period.
The NASA researchers seized the opportunity to test the technique. They released balloons with the barometers at a great height. On July 22, one of the measuring instruments succeeded in detecting the low-frequency sound waves. They were caused by an aftershock on the ground.
NASA wants to study Venus because it is very similar in size and age to Earth. The space agency wants to find out what happened to Venus that made it so inhospitable. NASA will send two science missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030.