Here's when the Soviet-era spacecraft Cosmos 482 may return to Earth

USA Today

06-05-2025

Here's when the Soviet-era spacecraft Cosmos 482 may return to Earth
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Soviet-era spacecraft to reenter Earth's atmosphere after 50 years
A Soviet-era spacecraft is set to reenter Earth's atmosphere more than 50 years after a failed mission to Venus.
unbranded - Newsworthy
Part of a Soviet-era spacecraft may return to Earth this week, more than 50 years after it embarked on a botched mission to Venus.
Cosmos 482 launched in 1972 with the intent of landing on Venus for scientific measurements until an apparent engine malfunction made arrival unfeasible. Since the engines failed to reach a necessary velocity to enter Venus' orbit, Cosmos 482 was abandoned in low-Earth orbit and it has moved around the planet ever since.
The spacecraft will likely commence its descent back to Earth's atmosphere on May 10, returning to the planet sometime by May 13, according to NASA.
However, officials not sure exactly where the spacecraft will land or what its condition will look like. NASA said some parts may survive as the probe was designed to withstand entry into Venus' atmosphere.
Here's what to know about the precarious arrival of whatever is left of Cosmos 482.
When will the Cosmos 482 spacecraft return to Earth?
Part of the Cosmos 482 spacecraft is slated to reenter Earth's atmosphere on Friday, May 9 at 12:42 a.m. EST, according to Aerospace.
NASA predicts the decaying probe could reenter Earth's atmosphere anytime between Wednesday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 13. However, the spacecraft is most likely to begin its descent on Saturday, May 10.
Where will Cosmos 482 land?
As of now, Cosmos 482's landing zone remains *ahem* up in the air.
A large swath of the globe could be a potential reentry location for the space debris. And estimates from Marco Langbroek, a lecturer and space traffic expert at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, hardly helped narrow down the possibilities.
The potential landing zone "includes much of south and mid-latitude Europe and Asia, as well as the Americas and the whole of Africa and Australia," Langbroek wrote on his blog.
What was Cosmos 482
The name Cosmos (or Kosmos) was given to Soviet spacecraft that remained in Earth's orbit beginning in 1962, regardless of whether that was their intended final destination, according to NASA.
The space agency points to evidence from Soviet and non-Soviet sources and historical documents to substantiate its belief that Cosmos 482 was intended to reach Venus.
The probe was launched four days after the Venera 8 atmospheric probe that made it to Venus and had an identical design, NASA said.
Soviet planetary missions were initially put into Earth's orbit as a launch platform with a rocket engine and attached probe, according to NASA. The probes were then launched toward their targets with an engine burn with a duration of roughly four minutes.
Cosmos 482 separated into four pieces, with two pieces decaying in low Earth orbit within 48 hours and the remaining pieces remaining in higher orbit. It is thought that a malfunction during the engine burn left the craft unable to reach the velocity needed to escape orbit and reach Venus, according to NASA.
What was mission of Cosmos 482?
Cosmos 482 was one in a pair of identical Venus atmospheric lander probes that launched in 1972. The other, Venera 8, successfully landed on Venus to make scientific measurements of its soil, known as regolith, before ceasing operations, according to NASA.
But when the Cosmos 482 launched four days after its twin probe, it failed to reach its destination due to an apparent engine malfunction. Unable to fire its engines to reach a velocity that would have allowed it to transfer into Venus' orbit, the spacecraft was instead left stranded in low-Earth orbit.
As a result, the spacecraft is believed to have separated into four pieces, two of which decayed within 48 hours and fell out of orbit. The remaining two pieces, presumably the lander probe and a detached upper stage engine unit, went into a higher orbit.
How did Cosmos 482 get its name?
Starting in 1962, the name "Cosmos" (or "Kosmos") was given to any Soviet spacecraft that reached Earth's orbit – even if that wasn't its intended destination, according to NASA.
The Soviet Union's planetary missions involved putting vehicles into what's referred to as an Earth parking orbit, or a temporary orbit used during the launch of a spacecraft. From there, a probe attached to a launch platform with a rocket engine would be sent toward its destination using an engine burn.
But if the engine misfired or the burn was not successful, the probes would be left in Earth orbit and given a "Cosmos" designation.
Contributing: James Powel