A Soviet probe launched in 1972 towards Venus is likely to fall to Earth this weekend - it never reached its destination. According to the European Space Agency ESA, the Kosmos-482 probe capsule is due to return on Saturday. The exact location of the probe, weighing almost 500 kg and measuring about a metre in diameter, will only be known in the near future.
However, ESA has assured that the risk of anyone being hurt in the fall of the probe is very small. It is believed that the probe, made of a highly resistant material, will fall to Earth intact - it should not disintegrate or burn up upon entering the atmosphere. The probe was supposedly designed to remain intact upon entering the Venusian atmosphere.
The Soviet Union launched a series of space probes to Venus from 1961 to 1983 as part of its Venera program to study the alien planet. Some of these probes landed on Venus and sent back information.
Kosmos 482 lifted off on March 1972, 31, and was scheduled to make a controlled landing on Venus, but a launch vehicle failure left it in Earth orbit. Other components burned out decades ago, but the capsule has been orbiting Earth ever since, gradually reducing its altitude.
We wrote this week that this probe could fall in PolandRead here.
Rasa Strimaitytė (ELTA)
