A dead Soviet space probe from 1972 is falling back to Earth
In 1972, the Soviet Union launched a pair of space probes destined for Venus. While the USSR's Venera 8 successfully reached its destination, a malfunctioning Soyuz rocket ensured its sibling Kosmos 482 craft never made it past Earth's orbit. The long-dead probe's remains have subsequently circled the planet for over 53 years—but according to a Dutch satellite tracker, its fiery (and uncontrolled) demise is finally on the horizon.
Marco Langbroek posted about the impending reentry to his blog SatTrackCam Leiden on April 24. Based on calculation models co-designed by space engineer Dominic Dirkx, Kosmos 482 is due to begin its descent on or around May 10. However, it's difficult to pinpoint where it might happen at the moment, thanks to the sun's ongoing active phase and its influence on atmospheric conditions.
That said, Langbroek believes Kosmos 482's orbital inclination of 51.7 degrees means it could reentry between the 52N and 52S latitudes (basically anywhere as far north as the United Kingdom and as far south as New Zealand). It will also achieve a velocity of around 150 miles per hour in the moments before impact.
'With a mass of just under 500 kg [1,102 pounds] and [its] 1-meter size, risks are similar to that of a meteorite impact,' explained Langbroek, although this likely isn't cause for much concern.
'The risks involved are not particularly high, but not zero,' Langbroek added.
It's also possible that the Soviet space probe debris could burn up during atmospheric reentry, but that's not entirely a given thanks to the probe's original mission goals.
'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 said.
There's also an (extremely) small chance that Kosmos 482's landing parachute may somehow still deploy during its last moments.
'I wouldn't bet on that working now,' Langbroek cautioned. '[I] would assume that, if it survives reentry, it would come down hard.'
The satellite tracker and his colleagues plan to continue gathering data and observations during the final days of Kosmos 482 to better pinpoint a date, time, and region of reentry.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
India to send first astronaut on mission to International Space Station
The first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station is due to blast off as part of an effort by the world's most populous nation to catch up with the US, Russia and China in human space flight missions. Shubhanshu Shukla, a 39-year-old air force fighter pilot, is is part of four-person mission launching on Tuesday from the US with the private company Axiom Space, which is using a SpaceX capsule. He will be the third astronaut of Indian origin to reach orbit, following Rakesh Sharma, who was part of a 1984 flight onboard a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, and Kalpana Chawla, who was born in India but became a US citizen and flew on two space shuttle missions, including the 2003 Columbia flight that ended in disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated, killing all seven astronauts onboard. 'I truly believe that even though, as an individual, I am travelling to space, this is the journey of 1.4 billion people,' Shukla was quoted as saying by the Hindu newspaper this year. Shukla said he hoped to 'ignite the curiosity of an entire generation in my country'. India's department of space has called the trip a 'defining chapter' in its ambitious space exploration programme. The International Space Station mission (ISS) 'stands as a symbol of a confident, forward-looking nation ready to reclaim its place in the global space race', the agency said before the launch. 'His journey is more than just a flight – it's a signal that India is stepping boldly into a new era of space exploration.' New Delhi has paid more than $60m for the mission, according to Indian media reports. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, has announced plans to send a person to the moon by 2040. The Indian Space Research Organisation, meanwhile, is planning to launch its own human spaceflight mission, called Gaganyaan, or 'sky craft' in Hindi, in 2027. Shukla is a contender to be part of that trip. Shukla trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia in 2020, before undertaking further training at the ISRO's centre in Bengaluru. He has said the journey aboard the Axiom Mission 4, and the expected 14 days on the ISS, will provide 'invaluable' lessons to bring back home. Shukla will be led by the mission commander, Peggy Whitson, a former Nasa astronaut and an Axiom employee, and joined by the European Space Agency astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, of Hungary. Related: How space exploration can improve life on Earth | Leigh Phillips They will conduct 60 scientific studies, including microgravity research, earth observation, and life, biological and material sciences experiments. India's space programme has grown considerably in size and momentum in the last decade, matching the achievements of established powers at a much cheaper price. In August 2023, it became the fourth nation to land an unmanned craft on the moon after Russia, the US and China. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is it true that … cold water plunges boost immunity?
'It's a long-held belief that taking to the waters is good for your health,' says Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth. From Roman frigidariums to Thomas Jefferson's foot baths, cold immersion has long been seen as curative. But does modern science support the idea that it boosts immunity? The answer: it's complicated. While cold water immersion does activate the body, that's not the same as strengthening the immune system. 'When you immerse yourself in cold water, your body undergoes the cold shock response,' says Tipton. 'You get rapid breathing, a spike in heart rate and a surge of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.' This may explain why people feel more alert or energised after a cold dip. But does it mean you're less likely to get sick? Many studies into the effects focus on immune cell activity in the blood – which can increase after cold exposure – but that doesn't always translate into fewer infections. 'It's easy to cherry-pick results,' says Tipton. He points to a frequently quoted Dutch study in which people who ended their daily hot showers with at least 30 seconds under cold water took 29% fewer sick days. While it's often used as an example of the powers of cold plunges, those participants actually reported the same number of infections as those who didn't have a cold shower. 'That might reflect increased resilience or just a willingness to push through because of being part of a study,' says Tipton, rather than better immunity. It may also be that regular cold plungers simply have a healthier lifestyle overall. A recent study by Tipton's team found that indoor and outdoor swimmers had fewer respiratory infections than non-swimmers, suggesting it may be the exercise, not the cold, doing the work. One thing is clear: too much cold is harmful. 'If your core temperature drops too far, it can suppress the immune system,' he says. His advice? Keep it short – no more than 90 seconds.


American Military News
a day ago
- American Military News
ISS missions with Russia are like working with Nazis, says former US astronaut
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. A retired US astronaut has told RFE/RL that joint missions with Russia on the International Space Station (ISS) should be scaled back, comparing them to collaboration with Nazi Germany at the height of World War II. 'Cooperating with the Russians on the ISS is like going on an Antarctic expedition with Nazis in 1943,' said Terry Virts, a former commander on the station. 'It's just morally reprehensible,' he added. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ISS is one of the rare areas where cooperation between Russia and the West has continued. Astronauts from both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) serve alongside cosmonauts from Russian space agency Roscosmos. Canada and Japan are also involved in what NASA describes 'as one of the most complex international collaborations ever attempted.' 'The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions from across the partnership to function,' NASA says. 'No one partner currently has the capability to function without the other.' Virts does not dispute this but calls for cooperation with Russia to be curtailed. Specifically, he said there are two areas where this would be possible and desirable. Soyuz Versus SpaceX 'We need to stop launching Americans on the Russian Soyuz,' he said, and 'we shouldn't be launching Russian cosmonauts on our rocket while they're actively destroying our friend and ally, Ukraine.' At present, the business of getting people to and from the ISS is shared. Crews and cargo have been ferried back and forth by Soyuz, SpaceX, and recently also Boeing's new Starliner capsule. 'You still need to operate the space station and you can do that…. It's only going to be in service for another few years,' Virts said. 'But I think we should pull back, to say the least.' In a statement provided to RFE/RL, NASA said it flew 'integrated crews' with Roscosmos 'aboard U.S. crew spacecraft and the Soyuz spacecraft to ensure continued safe operations' of the ISS and its crew. For Virts, this is a deeply personal issue. His career has been intimately bound up with the ISS. His maiden voyage as a Space Shuttle pilot in 2010 carried the ISS's final permanent modules, including the largest set of windows ever flown in space. On board the ISS four years later, he witnessed rocket fire in eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed separatists launched an insurgency there. This followed Russian troops seizing Crimea from Ukraine, and Virts says he was shocked by a cosmonaut's response. 'The commander of my Soyuz, Anton Shkaplerov, is from Sevastopol in Crimea. His wife is Ukrainian. And he was like, 'Krym nash, Krym nash,' which means 'Crimea is ours.' He was just so proud that they had taken back Crimea,' Virts said. But later, Virts was more concerned by three other cosmonauts he had flown with — Aleksander Samokutyaev, Maksim Surayev, and Yelena Surova — who all went on to serve as lawmakers in President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. 'I Felt Betrayed' 'You know, I loved the Russian language and the people and the food. I thought the space station can be this great cooperation instead of conflict. And here they are supporting the most evil, blatantly morally abhorrent war. And that was very painful. I felt betrayed,' he said. Samokutyaev is still serving in Russia's State Duma (parliament) and has been sanctioned by Britain, the European Union, and the United States. The EU sanctions were announced the day after the full-scale invasion, as Samokutyaev had voted to recognize Russian-backed separatist entities in Ukraine as independent states. This was a key move that created the Kremlin's legal pretext for the invasion. The US Treasury said he and other Duma members were sanctioned 'for complicity in Putin's war' due to the vote. Surayev and Surova are no longer in the Duma but have continued to agitate on behalf of Putin and his aggression in Ukraine. For instance, Surayev was a surrogate for Putin in his 2024 election campaign. He can be seen in this video in 2024 in Russian-occupied Donetsk. He was reported by Russian media to have spoken during his visit of the role played by cosmonauts in the 'special military operation,' the Kremlin's preferred term for the full-scale invasion. Surova is now an adviser to the Moscow regional governor. On March 8, Russian media reported she was ceremonially sending off 'aid' to frontline troops in Ukraine, including drones. 'Many committed citizens are helping our defenders by sending vital supplies to the front. Together, we are the only team, a mighty fist, that nobody can defeat,' she reportedly said. A Myth 'Dispelled' None of these former cosmonauts immediately responded to questions from RFE/RL, including how support for Putin and the war in Ukraine aligns with the humanitarian principles of international cooperation in space. Virts said they're not speaking to him, either. 'My Ukrainian friends love me. My Russian friends have stopped talking to me,' he said. There is also controversy surrounding a cosmonaut on the current ISS crew. Alexey Zubritsky was born in Ukraine in 1992 and last month RFE/RL's Current Time reported that he was wanted in the land of his birth for treason. In 2014, Zubritsky was a Ukrainian Air Force pilot stationed in Crimea. When Russian troops arrived, he disobeyed orders to report to a Ukrainian base outside the peninsula, opting instead to stay there and switch sides. The ISS is due to remain in operation until 2030. Shortly after Russian tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border in 2022, Moscow threatened to withdraw from cooperation on the ISS but later said it would remain involved until 2028. 'We have cooperated very well on the space station. We've made a lot of relationships,' said Virts. 'I was on the side of, well, cooperation in space can help things be better on Earth. And man, that myth has been dispelled.'