A sinking Soviet probe Venus could crash on Earth this year, so head over

One of the least known achievements of the Cold War space race is the Soviet success of landing probes on the incredibly hard and ruthless surface of Venus, whose temperatures can reach a hell of 870 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees Fahrenheit). degrees Celsius) and atmospheric. pressures 90 times higher than those of the Earth. Despite these infernal conditions, the Soviets managed to put 14 probes in good working order (the United States has just managed one) and landing gear on the surface. The Cosmos 482, however, is not part of it because a malfunction of a rocket trapped it in Earth's orbit. But we may be coming home soon.

The Cosmos 482 was launched on March 31, 1972, just days after the launch of its sister probe, now Venera 8, bound for Venus. Soviet probes usually carry a Cosmos generic name at launch and receive their official mission name only when they manage to leave Earth's orbit. The Cosmos 482 would have been Venera 9 if it had arrived at Venus, but of course it was not.

What happened was the "Escape Block L" engine, the rocket designed to propel the probe out of Earth's orbit and into Venus, was cut prematurely at 125 seconds due to a failure of the equipment, which resulted in the probe in a very elliptical trajectory. orbiting the Earth, with a maximum distance of approximately 6,093 miles and a minimum of approximately 126 miles.

Over the years, this orbit has deteriorated and now appears to be between 1,700 and 125 miles. It also seems that at one point an explosion took place, which separated the spacecraft into at least two parts, one falling back into the atmosphere and the other into orbit.

Although it is not known exactly which part of the spacecraft is left in orbit, independent observers have noted what appears to be a kind of oblong shape, although what is really high is not really clear.

The sources seem to think that part of what is still in orbit includes the LG itself, That's what makes this piece of space bazaar so interesting.

This decent ship was designed to withstand the reentry of Venus; even after spending almost half a century in space, such a lander should be more than capable of withstanding re-entry to Earth, which means that a piece of 1,091-pound vintage space material will most likely survive the back in and collapse on Earth.

I suppose there is a chance that his parachutes are still working, but I would not really rely on them.

Nobody really knows where and when the remains of Cosmos 482 will land, but everyone seems to agree that it will be sooner than expected, between 2023 and 2025.

A good thing about all this is that it reminds us of a really challenging and interesting material and exploration of the Space Race; a landing on Venus with an operational spacecraft remains impressive to this day.

I guess the disadvantage is that one of these awesome spacecraft could collapse in your garage. It's unlikely, but keep an eye anyway.