Plate tectonics plays a vital role in regulating the planet’s surface temperatures by helping to recycle greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Now scientists are trying to determine whether Earth-like planets outside our solar system have plate tectonics, which might increase the likelihood that such remote worlds harbor life.
The appearance of plate tectonics on terrestrial planets is related to planetary mass, with more massive planets than Earth expected to exhibit plate tectonics. Tectonic processes on other planets and moons in our solar system occur to varying degrees, but none have plate tectonics as on Earth.