Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth. Crashes into Indian Ocean
The European Space Agency is monitoring Cosmos 482's uncontrolled descent. The spacecraft was last spotted on radar over Germany between 12:30 a.m. ET and 2:04 a.m. ET.
"We have not received so far any reports on visual direct observations of the final re-entry, or on any impacts on ground," the ESA said.
Skywatching: May 2025 full moon is a flower moon and micromoon. Here's when to see it.
The EU Space Surveillance and Tracking agency said, "Object Cosmos-482 Descent Craft decayed within the last estimated re-entry window."
Scientists had not been concerned about Cosmos 482's return to Earth causing a danger risk to humans because of the craft's small size - about 3 feet in diameter and around 1,190 pounds, Space.com reported.
The space news site reported that Virtual Telescope Project astronomer Gianluca Masi posted an image of the spacecraft as it passed over Rome early May 10. The probe was "visible as a trail entering the field of view from the top and pointing to the bottom right corner," Masi wrote on his website.
What happened to Cosmos 482?
Cosmos 482, also known as Kosmos 482, was one of a pair of identical Venus atmospheric lander probes launched by the Soviet Union in 1972. The other spacecraft, Venera 8, arrived at Venus and made scientific measurements of the planet's soil before ceasing operation.
According to NASA, Cosmos 482 suffered an apparent launch malfunction and failed to achieve the velocity needed to reach Venus' atmosphere. Cosmos 482 separated into four pieces, two of which remained in Earth's low orbit and decayed within 48 hours, and the other two pieces went into a higher orbit.
Contributing: Greta Cross, Eric Lagatta and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 hours ago
- The Independent
Scientists have big rethink on possible Milky Way collision
Nasa scientists initially predicted that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies would collide in four billion years. A new study published in Nature Astronomy, based on 100,000 simulations using data from Nasa's Hubble and the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescopes, indicates only a 2 per cent chance of a collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda in the next five billion years. The simulations suggest that in many scenarios, the galaxies will have close encounters but avoid a direct collision. They may potentially merge in eight to 10 billion years, by which time the sun may have already died. The updated findings incorporate the gravitational effects of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, which influences the motion of the Milky Way and reduces the likelihood of a merger with Andromeda.
The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
The Milky Way was on a collision course with a neighboring galaxy. Not anymore
More than a decade ago, scientists predicted our Milky Way galaxy and neighboring Andromeda would collide in four billion years, resulting in a 'makeover' of our solar system. Now, that is unlikely — at least within the expected timeframe. 'We see external galaxies often colliding and merging with other galaxies, sometimes producing the equivalent of cosmic fireworks when gas, driven to the center of the merger remnant, feeds a central black hole emitting an enormous amount of radiation, before irrevocably falling into the hole,' explained Durham University Professor Carlos Frenk. 'Until now we thought this was the fate that awaited our Milky Way galaxy, ' he said in a statement. 'We now know that there is a very good chance that we may avoid that scary destiny.' Previous research from NASA astronomers had found that the collision with our closest neighbor galaxy would fling the sun to a new region of space, although the Earth would not be destroyed. The stars would be sent into different orbits. Right now, the galaxies are heading toward each other with a speed of approximately 62 miles per second. But, following 100,000 simulations of both galaxies based on the latest observational data from NASA's Hubble and the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescopes, the authors of the study that was published in the journal Nature Astronomy found just a 2 percent probability that the Milky Way and Andromeda would crash into each other over the course of the next five billion years. In more than half of the scenarios, the galaxies experienced at least one close encounter before they lost enough orbital energy to collide and merge. However, that would occur in some eight-to-10 billion years. By that time, the sun may have burnt itself out when it runs out of hydrogen, consuming the Earth. But, in most other cases, the galaxies pass each other by without incident, although there is room for uncertainty. Furthermore, the authors assert that previous research was not incorrect, but that they were able to incorporate more variables in their simulations. 'While some earlier works had focused on the interaction between the Milky Way, Andromeda, and the Triangulum galaxy, we also include the effect of the Large Magellanic Cloud,' lead author Dr. Till Sawala, of the University of Helsinki, said. The cloud is a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. 'Although its mass is only around 15 percent of the Milky Way's, its gravitational pull directed perpendicular to the orbit with Andromeda perturbs the Milky Way's motion enough to significantly reduce the chance of a merger with the Andromeda galaxy.' However, the authors are already looking to update their findings with new data. The European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope will soon provide more precise measurements of crucial factors within the galaxies, including the motion of Andromeda. Still, Frenk said the results are a 'testimony' to the power of large supercomputers. 'When I see the results of our calculations, I am astonished that we are able to simulate with such precision the evolution of gigantic collections of stars over billions of years and figure out their ultimate fate,' he added.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Milky Way's chance of colliding with galaxy billions of years from now? New study puts odds at 50-50
It turns out that looming collision between our Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies might not happen after all. Astronomers reported Monday that the probability of the two spiral galaxies colliding is less than previously thought, with a 50-50 chance within the next 10 billion years. That's essentially a coin flip, but still better odds than previous estimates and farther out in time. 'As it stands, proclamations of the impending demise of our galaxy seem greatly exaggerated,' the Finnish-led team wrote in a study appearing in Nature Astronomy. While good news for the Milky Way galaxy, the latest forecast may be moot for humanity. 'We likely won't live to see the benefit," lead author Till Sawala of the University of Helsinki said in an email. Already more than 4.5 billion years old, the sun is on course to run out of energy and die in another 5 billion years or so, but not before becoming so big it will engulf Mercury, Venus and possibly Earth. Even if it doesn't swallow Earth, the home planet will be left a burnt ball, its oceans long since boiled away. Sawala's international team relied on the latest observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency's Gaia star-surveying spacecraft to simulate the possible scenarios facing the Milky Way and next-door neighbor Andromeda. Both already collided with other galaxies in their ancient past and, according to many, seemed destined for a head-on crash. Past theories put a collision between the two — resulting in a new elliptical galaxy dubbed Milkomeda — as probable if not inevitable. Some predictions had that happening within 5 billion years, if not sooner. For this new study, the scientists relied on updated galaxy measurements to factor in the gravitational pull on the Milky Way's movement through the universe. They found that the effects of the neighboring Triangulum galaxy increased the likelihood of a merger between the Milky Way and Andromeda, while the Large Magellanic Cloud decreased those chances. Despite lingering uncertainty over the position, motion and mass of all these galaxies, the scientists ended up with 50-50 odds of a collision within the next 10 billion years. 'The fate of our Milky Way galaxy is a subject of broad interest — not just to astronomers,' said Raja GuhaThakurta of the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the study, A full-on collision, he noted, would transform our home galaxy from a disk of stars seen as a milky band of diffuse light across the sky into a milky blob. A harmless flyby of the two galaxies could leave this stellar disk largely undisturbed, thus preserving our galaxy's name. More work is needed before the Milky Way's fate can be predicted with accuracy, according to the researchers. Further insight should help scientists better understand what's happening among galaxies even deeper in the cosmos. While our galaxy's fate remains highly uncertain, the sun's future is 'pretty much sealed," according to Sawala. 'Of course, there is also a very significant chance that humanity will bring an end to itself still much before that, without any need for astrophysical help." ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
