Kosmos 482:
A part of the Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482, launched on March 31, 1972, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around May 10, 2025, after orbiting the planet for over five decades.
- Kosmos 482 is a Soviet-era Venus lander, launched on March 31, 1972 as part of the Venera space programme.
- It was meant to land on Venus, but a rocket’s upper stage malfunction left it stranded in Earth orbit.
- After more than 50 years in space, a 500-kg lander module is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere around May 10, 2025.
- The upper stage of the launch vehicle shut down prematurely due to a timer malfunction.
- This prevented the spacecraft from escaping Earth’s gravity and sent it into a low Earth orbit
- The main spacecraft eventually burned up in the atmosphere, but the lander module continued orbiting.
- The Venera programme (1961–1984) was a Soviet interplanetary mission series aimed at exploring Venus.
- It launched 28 probes, of which 13 entered Venus’s atmosphere and 10 landed on the surface
