Magellan Stories

NASA’s Magellan Mission Reveals Possible Tectonic Activity on Venus

Using archival data from the mission, launched in 1989, researchers have uncovered new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the planet’s surface. Vast, quasi-circular features on Venus’ surface may reveal that the planet has ongoing tectonics, according to new…

Ongoing Venus Volcanic Activity Discovered With NASA’s Magellan Data

An analysis of data from Magellan’s radar finds two volcanoes erupted in the early 1990s. This adds to the 2023 discovery of a different active volcano in Magellan data. Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus has been…

Magellan Mission to Venus Began 25 Years Ago Aboard Atlantis on STS-30 Mission

Though NASA’s Magellan radar mapper was not the first mission to Venus, it was unique in that it was the first interplanetary spacecraft deployed from a space shuttle. It also was the first spacecraft sent to complete a radar map…