https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/failed-soviet-venus-lander-kosmos-482-crashes-to-earth-after-53-years-in-orbit [] Skip to main content (*) ( ) Open menu Close menu Space [ ] Search Search Space [ ] Sign in * * View Profile * Sign out RSS Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter * * Space Exploration * Astronomy * Stargazing * Launches & Spacecraft * Videos * The Moon * More + Subscribe to Our Newsletters + Artemis + James Webb Space Telescope + Entertainment + Solar System + Search for Life + Forums + Technology + Get Space Magazines + About Us + Web Notifications Trending * Soviet Venus probe falls to Earth * Night sky tonight! * Aurora Forecast * Next Full Moon * Space Calendar * Best Binoculars * Lego Star Wars deals * Best Telescopes * Best Star Projectors * Best Drones * Solar System Planets Recommended reading a map of the earth with three parabolic lines stretching from east to west across the center, crossing central america, western europe and south asia Launches & Spacecraft Failed Soviet Venus probe Kosmos 482 is expected to fall to Earth tonight, but when and where? Here's what we know A piece of space debris streaks with flame as it burns up in the atmosphere. Launches & Spacecraft What the Soviet Venus Probe's fiery fall to Earth might look like: These past space junk crashes offer clues a laptop screen with a roughly ball-shaped spacecraft on it with the letters "CCCP" Launches & Spacecraft A failed Soviet Venus probe is falling to Earth, and an astronomer will attempt to catch it on camera on May 9 A world map with a satellite trajectory and point of impact marked above Australia in the Indian Ocean. Satellites Indian experiment module falls from space and crashes into ocean, but it's all according to plan Illustration of ESA's Salsa Cluster satellite burning up during reentry. Satellites Scientists chased a falling spacecraft with a plane to understand satellite air pollution a shower of sparks passes from the bottom of the image to the top, while ceramic sides of a spacecraft capsule can be seen at the left and right edges Private Spaceflight Feel the burn with this amazing video of a Varda space capsule's plunge through Earth's atmosphere A collage of a cubesat, NASA NEOWISE and IMAGE satellites. Space Exploration 'It was a miracle.' Amazing tales of dead spacecraft that came back to life 1. Space Exploration 2. Launches & Spacecraft Failed Soviet Venus lander Kosmos 482 crashes to Earth after 53 years in orbit News By Mike Wall published 10 May 2025 Kosmos 482 has come home. * * * * * * * Comments ( 0 ) () When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. a faint line of light crosses a starry night sky at dusk Astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project caught this image of Kosmos 482 during one of its last orbits as it passed over Rome, Italy on May 10, 2025. (Image credit: Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project) A failed Soviet Venus lander's long space odyssey has come to an end. The Kosmos 482 probe crashed to Earth today (May 10) after circling our planet for more than five decades. Reentry occurred at 2:24 a.m. ET (0624 GMT or 9:24 a.m. Moscow time) over the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia, according to Russia's space agency Roscosmos. Kosmos 482 appears to have fallen harmlessly into the sea. That's just one estimate, however; other space agencies and tracking organizations predicted different reentry locations, from the South Asian mainland to the eastern Pacific. It's unclear when or if we'll get a definitive answer to where Kosmos 482 came down. You may like * Failed Soviet Venus probe Kosmos 482 is expected to fall to Earth tonight, but when and where? Here's what we know * What the Soviet Venus Probe's fiery fall to Earth might look like: These past space junk crashes offer clues * A failed Soviet Venus probe is falling to Earth, and an astronomer will attempt to catch it on camera on May 9 Astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project caught an image of Kosmos 482 during one of its final orbits as it passed over Rome, Italy just before sunrise on May 10. In the photo, the probe is "visible as a trail entering the field of view from the top and pointing to the bottom right corner," Masi wrote on his website. "The picture is the sum of four images, this is why the trail of Cosmos 482 looks dashed." Earth isn't the planet that Kosmos 482 was supposed to land on. The spacecraft was part of the Soviet Union's Venera program, which sent a fleet of probes to Venus in the 1960s, '70s and early '80s. Kosmos 482 launched toward Earth's hellishly hot sister planet in 1972, but a problem with its rocket stranded the spacecraft in an elliptical orbit around Earth. For the next 53 years, atmospheric drag pulled the probe down slowly but surely, leading to today's dramatic denouement. Most large pieces of space junk -- decrepit satellites and spent rocket bodies, for example -- break apart during their fiery trips back to Earth, creating artificial meteor showers. It's possible that Kosmos 482 made it down in one piece today, however, given that it was designed to survive a high-speed trip through Venus' thick atmosphere. Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! [ ][ ]Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands[ ]Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors[Sign me up] By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Kosmos 482 is about 3.3 feet (1 meter) wide and weighs about 1,190 pounds (495 kilograms). If it didn't break apart during reentry, it likely hit Earth's surface going about 150 mph (240 kph), according to Dutch satellite tracker Marco Langbroek. In that scenario, "the kinetic energy at impact is similar to that of a 40-55 cm [16 to 22 inches] large (after ablation) meteorite fragment," Langbroek wrote in a blog post recently. a black and white image of a roughly cylindrical-shaped grey mass on a black background Telescopic images of the Soviet Kosmos 482 Venus descent craft in Earth's orbit, taken by satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh of the Netherlands, suggest that the probe's parachute may be out. (Image credit: Ralf Vandebergh) Related stories: -- 3 big hunks of space junk crash to Earth every day -- and it's only going to get worse -- New images of Soviet Venus lander falling to Earth suggest its parachute may be out -- Kessler Syndrome and the space debris problem Kosmos 482's fall draws attention to our planet's growing space junk problem. On average, three sizeable pieces of debris crash back to Earth every day -- and that number is only going to go up. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), Earth orbit hosts about 14,240 satellites, 11,400 of which are active. Most of the operational craft belong to SpaceX's Starlink broadband megaconstellation, which currently consists of about 7,200 satellites but is growing all the time. Other megaconstellations are under construction as well. For example, Amazon just launched the first big batch of spacecraft for its Project Kuiper broadband network, which will eventually harbor 3,200 satellites, if all goes according to plan. And rockets have lofted satellites for two different Chinese megaconstellations, each of which is designed to host at least 13,000 spacecraft. "With the increasing space traffic, we expect that reentry frequencies increase further in the future," ESA officials wrote in a Kosmos 482 blog post. The risk of injury or property damage from each individual reentry is very small, given that much debris burns up in the air and the pieces that don't usually come down in the ocean or on unoccupied land. But as the reentry volume goes up, so too do the odds of a destructive impact. There are other potential consequences as well. For instance, researchers are calling attention to the pollution created by reentering satellites, which could damage Earth's ozone layer and also affect our planet's climate. Editor's note: This story was updated at 12:10 p.m. ET on May 10 to state that tracking organizations predicted several different possible reentry locales for Kosmos 482. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. Mike Wall Mike Wall Social Links Navigation Senior Space Writer Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout Read more a map of the earth with three parabolic lines stretching from east to west across the center, crossing central america, western europe and south asia Failed Soviet Venus probe Kosmos 482 is expected to fall to Earth tonight, but when and where? Here's what we know A piece of space debris streaks with flame as it burns up in the atmosphere. What the Soviet Venus Probe's fiery fall to Earth might look like: These past space junk crashes offer clues a laptop screen with a roughly ball-shaped spacecraft on it with the letters "CCCP" A failed Soviet Venus probe is falling to Earth, and an astronomer will attempt to catch it on camera on May 9 A world map with a satellite trajectory and point of impact marked above Australia in the Indian Ocean. 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