The Soviet probe Cosmos 482, launched on March 31, 1972, could enter the atmosphere this weekend and crash on earth.
“The orbit of the cosmos 482 probe declines and it should enter the earthly atmosphere at a given time between May 9 and 10, 2025, all centered around May 10 at 7:30 am UTC (3:30 am time in Montreal)”, writes NASA on its website.
If most objects usually disintegrate when entering the earth’s atmosphere, the probe should survive, according to NASA.
Indeed, it is designed to withstand an entry into the atmosphere of Venus, so should not disintegrate when it entered the earth’s atmosphere.
NASA does not know how precisely the mass of 495 kg should land, but has determined that it would occur between latitudes 52n and 52s.
“The time and place of entry into the atmosphere should be known more precisely in the coming days, but uncertainty will remain until the entrance,” said the American space agency.
The probe was launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 in order to go to Venus.
However, the mission failed when the spacecraft separated into four parts when starting its trajectory towards Venus.
A failure would have made an engine that an engine would not have burned enough and would have made sure that the probe did not obtain the velocity necessary to reach the trajectory towards Venus.
