Overview
- Kosmos 482, a Soviet Venus probe launched in 1972, failed its transfer burn and has remained in Earth orbit for 53 years due to a rocket malfunction.
- The spacecraft is predicted to reenter Earth's atmosphere between May 9 and 10, with its landing zone anywhere between 52°N and 52°S latitude, spanning major continents and oceans.
- Designed to withstand Venus's extreme atmosphere, the probe's heat-resistant components could survive reentry, posing a low but non-zero risk of surface impact damage akin to a small meteorite.
- Experts are closely monitoring the probe's orbit but note that its exact reentry time and location will remain uncertain until shortly before the event.
- The event highlights the growing challenges of space debris management, with over 1.2 million tracked objects in orbit and an average of three uncontrolled reentries daily.