Soviet-era Venus probe plunges back to Earth after 53 years – DW – 05/10/2025
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A probe launched from the Soviet Union more than five decades ago has plummeted back to Earth, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Kosmos 482 had been bound for Venus but never reached its destination.

A probe launched from the Soviet Union more than five decades ago has plummeted back to Earth, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Kosmos 482 had been bound for Venus but never reached its destination.

Russian space agency Roscosmos on Saturday said a Soviet space probe that took off in March 1972 to explore the planet Venus crashed into the Indian Ocean.

Planetary lander Kosmos 482 never made it to Earth’s sister planet because it was dragged off course after a malfunction in its launch vehicle’s upper stage.

  • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
    39·
    1 day ago

    Sure, if you can get it down, let alone in one piece. It’s unreachable and uncontrollable. It’s a hazard to space navigation.

    Well, it was, until it deorbited, anyway. Now it’s returned to the dust it was made from. (I doubt any parts made it down intact.)

    • Deme@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      6·
      1 day ago

      The lander most probably made it down in one piece. It was designed to survive an atmospheric entry on Venus and from interplanetary speeds. It almost certainly survived a reentry into Earth from a low orbit. That being said, it probably shattered in the splashdown due to the parachute not deploying.

      • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
        12·
        1 day ago

        From wikipedia:

        The landing module, which weighed around 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), may have reached the surface of Earth largely intact. Correctly oriented, it was designed to withstand 300 g of acceleration and 100 atmospheres of pressure entering the atmosphere of Venus. However, the age of the craft and the shallow angle of reentry likely reduced survivability; tumbling or misorientation may have resulted in sections of the craft burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. The final impact velocity was estimated to be 65–70 metres per second (230–250 km/h; 150–160 mph).

        So maybe the main body of the landing module made it down, but it’s extremely unlikely that it would have maintained the correct orientation. And any part that didn’t burn up was surely obliterated in the impact.