Venus once had seas — scientist

Press, 31 January 1983, Page 19

Venus once had seas — scientist

NZPA-Reuter Moscow The findings of two Soviet space probes that landed on Venus last year suggest that the planet once had large areas of water, a senior scientist has said. Data transmitted to Earth by Venera 13 and Venera 14 last March showed an unexpectedly high level of ferric oxides on the surface, according to Dr Valery Barsukov, director of the Soviet Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. He said it was likely they were formed by the evaporation of large quantities of water.

“It seems that Venus may once have had a volume of water equivalent to about one-third of the Earth’s

oceans,” said Dr Barsukov, in an interview with Tass news agency. He said it was probably that the Venetian seas dried up during the first 500 million years of the planet’s existence because of its proximity to the Sun. The oxygen from the water formed the oxides and the hydrogen permeated the atmosphere. Dr Barsukov said that computer analysis of the two probe's findings had now been completed. This had confirmed earlier assessments that the planet’s surface was made up largely of basalt-type rock, with a sprinkling of minerals rarely found on Earth.