Russian aircraft Kosmos 482 may have just crashed on Earth, according to experts
The spacecraft was originally made to land on Venus, and was launched 53 years ago.
The last piece of a Russian spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 had been making an uncontrolled approach towards Earth for several weeks, and it may have just crashed somewhere on the planet. Experts have been tracking the spacecraft's approach to Earth, and they say it's unlikely it will have crashed into a populated area.
The European Space Agency and others say the spacecraft- which has been stuck in orbit since 1972- has most likely already hit the Earth, as it was not spotted on its most recent pass over radar in Germany. However, it remains unclear exactly when and where the probe may have entered the atmosphere and crash landed.
The spacecraft was originally made to land on Venus, and was built to survive the far-off planet's extreme atmosphere, reported the Independent. However, during its launch 53 years ago in 1972, it ran into technical problems and got stuck in orbit around Earth.
The Russian-made probe had been floating around our planet since.
Because the spacecraft was built to endure the heat and high-pressure of Venus, experts have estimated that it could have survived its journey through Earth's atmosphere, instead of breaking apart, as is usual for most uncontrolled descents.
The spherical spacecraft measures 3ft (one metre) across and weighs more than 1,000lbs (495kg).
It is the last piece of Kosmos 482 to fall from the sky, after all the other parts of the spacecraft plummeted within a decade of its initial launch.
According to experts, the probe was likely to land over water or a desolate region of land, rather than a populated area of the planet.
University of Colorado Boulder scientist Marcin Pilinski said: "While we can anticipate that most of this object will not burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry, it may be severely damaged on impact."
All indications pointed to a re-entry early on the morning of Saturday, May 10, but despite space debris trackers documenting the spacecraft's progress, it was impossible to know exactly when and where Kosmos 482 would re-enter the atmosphere.
The details were difficult to determine because of potential solar activity and the fact that the spacecraft was so old.
Kosmos 482's parachutes were expected to be rendered useless after so much time in space, and its batteries were probably long dead.
Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek estimated the impact speed to be 150mph if the spacecraft had remained intact.
The Soviets launched Kosmos 482 in 1972, with intentions to send it to Venus to join the other spacecraft in their Venera programme.
But after a rocket malfunction, the craft was left stuck in orbit around Earth.
Any surviving wreckage of the craft will belong to Russia under a United Nations treaty.
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