Determination of the elemental composition of rocks on Venus by Venera 13 and Venera 14 (preliminary results)

Abstract

Venera 13 and Venera 14 have determined for the first time ever the elemental composition of the Venusian rocks at the probes' landing sites. To study Venusian rocks, rolling upland and flat lowland have been chosen as the most typical of the entire planetary surface. Venera 13 landed on the rolling upland, while Venera 14 landed in the region with lower topography. The chemical composition of the rock at the Venera 13 landing site proved to be similar to the composition of potassium alkaline basalts of the earth's crust, rocks which can be found on oceanic islands and in rift zones. The chemical composition of the rock at the Venera 14 landing site is similar to that of tholeiitic basalts of the oceanic crust of the earth. The comparison of new data on the composition of Venusian rocks with the composition of the rocks of similar provinces on the earth and the moon shows that the evolution of the surface and crust of Venus was not similar to that of the earth and especially not that of the moon.