What to Know About Kosmos-482, a Soviet Spacecraft Returning to Earth After 53 Years
A robotic Soviet spacecraft has been adrift in space for 53 years. It will return to Earth later this week.
Kosmos-482 launched in March 1972. If all had gone well, it would have landed on the sweltering surface of Venus and become the ninth of the uncrewed Soviet Venera missions to the planet. Instead, a rocket malfunction left it stranded in Earth orbit. Kosmos-482 has been slowly spiraling back toward our world ever since.
'It's this artifact that was meant to go to Venus 50 years ago and was lost and forgotten for half a century,' said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who maintains a public catalog of objects in space. 'And now it's going to get its moment in atmospheric entry — albeit on the wrong planet.'
Cloaked in a protective heat shield, the spacecraft, weighing roughly 1,050 pounds, was designed to survive its plunge through the toxic Venusian atmosphere. That means there's a good chance it will survive its dive through this one, and could make it to the surface at least partly intact.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists puzzled by giant planet detected orbiting tiny star
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Astronomers have spotted a cosmic mismatch that has left them perplexed - a really big planet orbiting a really small star. The discovery defies current understanding of how planets form. The star is only about a fifth the mass of the sun. Stars this size should host small planets akin to Earth and Mars under the leading theories on planetary formation. But the one detected in orbit around this star is much larger - in fact, as big as Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system. The star, named TOI-6894, is located roughly 240 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). It is the smallest-known star to host a large planet, about 40% smaller than the two previous record holders. "The question of how such a small star can host such a large planet is one that this discovery raises - and we are yet to answer," said astronomer Edward Bryant of the University of Warwick in England, lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Astronomy. Planets beyond our solar system are called exoplanets. The one orbiting TOI-6894 is a gas giant, like Saturn and Jupiter in our solar system, rather than a rocky planet like Earth. The birth of a planetary system begins with a large cloud of gas and dust - called a molecular cloud - that collapses under its own gravity to form a central star. Leftover material spinning around the star in what is called a protoplanetary disk forms planets. Smaller clouds yield smaller stars, and smaller disks contain less material to form planets. "In small clouds of dust and gas, it's hard to build a giant planet," said exoplanet scientist and study co-author Vincent Van Eylen of University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. "This is because to build a giant planet, you need to quickly build a large planet core and then quickly accrete (accumulate) a lot of gas on top of that core. But there's only so much time to do it before the star starts shining and the disk rapidly disappears. In small stars, we think there's simply not enough mass available to build a giant planet quickly enough before the disk disappears," Van Eylen added. No known planet is larger than its host star, and that is the case here as well, though the two are much closer in size than usual. While the sun's diameter is 10 times larger than our solar system's largest planet Jupiter, TOI-6894's diameter is just 2.5 times greater than its only known planet. The star is a red dwarf, the smallest type of regular star and the most common kind found in the Milky Way galaxy. "Given these stars are very common, there may be many more giant planets in the galaxy than we thought," Bryant said. The star is about 21% the mass of the sun and much dimmer. In fact, the sun is about 250 times more luminous than TOI-6894. "These findings suggest that even the smallest stars in the universe can in some cases form very large planets. That forces us to rethink some of our planet formation models," Van Eylen said. The planet is located about 40 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, completing an orbit in approximately three days. Its proximity to the star means the planet's surface is quite hot, though not as hot as gas giants called "hot Jupiters" detected orbiting similarly close to bigger stars. Its diameter is slightly larger than Saturn and a bit smaller than Jupiter, though it is less dense than them. Its mass is 56% that of Saturn and 17% that of Jupiter. The main data used in studying the planet came from NASA's orbiting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, and the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope, or VLT. The researchers hope to better understand the planet's composition with observations planned over the next year using the James Webb Space Telescope. "We expect it to have a massive core surrounded by a gaseous envelope made up of predominantly hydrogen and helium gas," Bryant said.
Gizmodo
4 hours ago
- Gizmodo
New Russian Satellite Appears to Be Stalking U.S. Satellite in Orbit
A recently launched Russian satellite is getting uncomfortably cozy with a U.S. reconnaissance satellite, leading Space Command to worry that it's part of an anti-satellite weapon being deployed to orbit. Cosmos 2588 launched on May 23 to a near-circular orbit, placing it eerily close to a U.S. reconnaissance satellite, USA 338. The move prompted suspicion that it's an attempt by Russia to deliberately stalk the U.S. government satellite. This isn't the first time Russia has deployed a sneaky satellite to trail behind and allegedly observe another satellite in orbit, but this time it may be connected to Russia's controversial anti-satellite program. 'U.S. Space Command can confirm Russia's recent launch put a Russian satellite into an orbit near a U.S. government satellite,' a Space Command spokesperson is quoted as saying to Breaking Defense. 'Russia continues to research, develop, test, and deploy a suite of counter space systems that threaten the safety and the stability of the domain, so consistent with all on-orbit objects, USSPACECOM will continue to monitor for concerning behavior or activity related to this launch.' Slingshot Aerospace reports that the alleged spy satellite, Cosmos 2588, is a NIVELIR military inspection satellite likely carrying a kinetic weapon onboard. Its alignment with USA 338 'strongly suggests COSMOS 2588 may be actively monitoring or 'chasing' it,' the satellite tracking company wrote in a statement. Slingshot Aerospace has been tracking the two satellites, revealing that Cosmos 2588 is orbiting at a slightly higher altitude and that the two objects will have a close flyby of one another roughly every four days. The two satellites come as close as 62 miles (100 kilometers) from one another, Marco Langbroek, an astronomer and expert on space situational awareness at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, wrote on X. Not much else is known about USA 338 as it doesn't have publicly available orbital data, but it is believed to be a part of the National Reconnaissance Office's KH-series electro-optical surveillance network, known as the Crystal constellation, according to Interesting Engineering. This isn't the first time Russia has allegedly deployed a satellite for such a purpose. In April 2023, a Russian satellite appeared to be closely trailing a classified U.S. military satellite, and Russia's Kosmos 2558, launched in August 2022, was deployed into the same orbital plane as a U.S. military satellite, dubbed USA 326. In 2020, another Russian satellite, Kosmos 2542, stalked USA 245, an electro-optical spy satellite in low Earth orbit. The U.S. isn't completely innocent either. In June 2017, classified U.S. military satellite USA 276 snuck up on the International Space Station at a close distance of about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). Earlier in 1998, hobbyists discovered a U.S. satellite that was believed to have been used for space spying purposes as well. Russia's satellites, however, are believed to be part of the country's efforts to develop an anti-satellite weapon designed to destroy other objects in space. In November 2021, Russia destroyed a defunct Soviet-era satellite in low Earth orbit, producing thousands of pieces of orbital debris. The test prompted the United Nations to draft a resolution against tests of anti-satellite (ASAT) missile systems, which was led by the Biden administration after the U.S. adopted a self-imposed ban on ASAT tests. A total of 155 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while nine voted against it, including Russia, China, Cuba, Syria, and Iran. 'This is the fourth time in five years that they launch a satellite into a coplanar orbit with a US optical reconnaissance satellite,' Langbroek wrote on X. 'So no, not mere coincidence but deliberate.'
Geek Tyrant
7 hours ago
- Geek Tyrant
Cool New Trailer and Poster Art For Marvel's THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS — GeekTyrant
As tickets gor on sale for The Fantastic Four: First Steps , Marvel has released a new trailer and a collection of poster art for the film. The trailer offers a bit of new footage that includes our first look at the baby Franklin Richards. The son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Other footage includes the Thing piloting the Fantasticar, and a fun interaction between Reed and Johnny Storm, which highlights Human Torch's attitude. 'Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel's First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing—as they face their most daunting challenge yet. 'Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus' plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren't bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.' Directed by WandaVision 's Matt Shakman, the film boasts a high-profile cast led by Pedro Pascal (Reed), Vanessa Kirby (Sue), Joseph Quinn (Johnny), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben), with a supporting lineup that includes John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Sarah Niles in yet-to-be-revealed roles. The script was originally written by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, it was revised by Cameron Squires and Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman, with Eric Pearson ( Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow ) giving it the final pass. The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters on July 25, 2025.
