Soviet space debris set to re‑enter Earth after 50 years
A part of the Soviet probe Kosmos 482, which has been orbiting Earth for over 50 years, may soon enter the atmosphere. This probe, launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, remained in orbit due to a rocket failure. It will soon fall to Earth. The main questions are: where and when will it fall?
The Kosmos 482 probe was launched by the USSR in 1972 as part of a mission to gather data from the surface of Venus. However, not everything went according to plan. Due to a malfunction in the upper stage of the rocket, the probe was unable to leave Earth's orbit and broke into several parts.
Kosmos 482 will return to Earth - sort of
Some fragments of the Kosmos 482 probe re-entered Earth's atmosphere in the 1980s, but the remaining parts, including a lander weighing 1,091 pounds and approximately one metre in size, are gradually descending to lower layers of orbit. According to Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek, this fragment may soon fall to Earth, as reported by The Verge.
The problem is that it's unclear exactly where the probe fragment will fall or whether it will burn up in the atmosphere before impact. As Langbroek points out, the lander was designed to survive entry into Venus's atmosphere, which has an average temperature of about 867 degrees Fahrenheit.
When will this happen?
Technically, the probe fragment may survive entry into Earth's atmosphere and fall in an unspecified location. The fall will be uncontrolled, and the lander's parachute systems will most likely not work after so many years in space. Nevertheless, the probability of someone being hit is small, but not zero, the scientist emphasizes.
The expected impact speed is 213-230 feet per second (approximately 150 mph). When will the Kosmos 482 fragment enter the atmosphere? It is predicted to occur around May 10th.
