Earth may not be the only celestial body in our solar system that has been shaped by the forces of plate tectonics. Until now, scientists thought that the rugged crust of Mars never broke into smaller, rigid plates but remained intact, whole, throughout the life of the planet. Recently, however, a theory has been put forth suggesting that the history of Mars has been marked by significant tectonic events transforming the surface of the planet in much the same way that Earth’s surface has been transformed through the millennia.

The surface of Mars is marked with volcanic remnants resembling the island arcs of Japan and others along the Ring of Fire in the east Pacific. There are two huge volcanoes, Olympic Mons (16 miles high and 370 miles wide) and Alba Patera, which scientists believe might have been formed as a result of subduction processes somewhat similar to those occurring on earth, or perhaps as the result of a hot spots that existed under the Martian surface long ago.

Scientists are also searching for evidence of tectonic activity on Venus and during the Voyager ll encounter with Jupiter, an active volcano was discovered erupting on one of Jupiter’s 16 moons, Io. Plate tectonics, rather than being an isolated earthly phenomenon, may very well be a ubiquitous cosmic occurrence.
   
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