Palaven's largest moon has been shrouded in secrecy since the dawn of the turian space age. During the Krogan Rebellions, the Hierarchy classified nearly all data on Menae, and its sister moon Nanus, because they feared the krogan could use the moons as weapons by smashing them into Palaven's surface. However, some information has leaked out. Images of turian bases where personnel walk without enviro-suits indicate advanced infrastructure--likely a network of subterranean tunnels with powerful mass effect field generators that retain heat and atmosphere over swaths of the surface.
The turian homeworld, Palaven, has a metal-poor core, generating a weak magnetic field and allowing more solar radiation into the atmosphere. To deal with this, most forms of life on Palaven evolved some form of metallic exoskeleton to protect themselves. Their reflective plate-like skin makes turians less susceptible to long-term, low-level radiation exposure, but they do not possess any natural armor. The turians' martial attitude permeates every aspect of Palaven society, from architecture to art to politics.