Soviet Venus Probe Cosmos-482 Expected to Fall to Earth Soon

The automatic interplanetary station "Cosmos-482", which was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in 1972, will soon fall to Earth. It will presumably enter the Earth's atmosphere on May 10, Orda.kz reports.

According to The Guardian, the weight of Cosmos-482 is 500 kilograms, and its diameter is one meter. The station was supposed to land on Venus, but due to a malfunction during the launch of the launch vehicle, it did not go beyond the Earth's orbit. 

For the last 53 years, Cosmos-482 has been orbiting our planet, gradually decreasing in altitude. According to forecasts, it will fall to Earth at 242 kilometers per hour around May 10.

It’s too early to know where the half-ton mass of metal might come down or how much of it will survive re-entry, according to space debris-tracking experts,The Guardian notes. 

"Cosmos-482" is relatively small, so it poses no significant risk.

Several meteorites of the same size fall to the surface of the Earth every year. However, the probability that the device will not burn up completely is high, as it was designed to land in the carbon dioxide-thick atmosphere of Venus.

Experts say it is impossible to predict where the Soviet station launched from Kazakhstan will crash. 

Original Author: Nikita Drobny