“A lander built to survive Venus’ atmosphere may endure Earth reentry intact,” Langbroek wrote.
May 2 (UPI) – A Soviet-era spacecraft originally launched toward Venus in 1972 is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere around May 10, with no certainty about where it will land.
Kosmos 482 failed to reach its intended trajectory due to a malfunction in its upper stage booster and has been orbiting Earth ever since.
The return was identified by Marco Langbroek, a lecturer in space situational awareness at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands.
“As this is a lander that was designed to survive passage through the Venus atmosphere, it is possible that it will survive reentry through the Earth atmosphere intact, and impact intact,” Langbroek wrote in a blog post.
He noted the risk to Earth is low, but not zero—comparable to a meteorite strike.
Ralf Vandeburgh, a satellite tracker in the Netherlands, captured images of the object.
“We see a clear compact ball! This set is already fantastic, I think,” he said.
Reentry may occur several days before or after May 10.