The Soviet space probe Kosmos 482 is to enter the atmosphere of Earth in the second week of May. The object that was supposed to gather information about the atmosphere of Venus, as a result of a technical problem, spent over half a century in the Earth's orbit. Researchers still do not know where fragments of the probe can fall – and it is possible that the whole object.
The Kosmos 482 probe was built as part of the Venera program, which aims to explore Venus. The building was launched in March 1972, but as a result of a technical problem, instead of in the atmosphere of the second planet from the sun, it was in the Earth's orbit. The probe has been moving around our planet after an elliptical orbit for 53 years, but the latest observations have confirmed that it will return to Earth soon.
When will space 482 hit the ground?
Astronoma Marco Langbroek from the Technical University of Delft described the possible entry of the object into the atmosphere of the Earth, also giving approximate dates of the event. According to the latest calculations, Kosmos 482 should fall in the second week of May, most likely around Saturday, May 10. He explained that the exact date of the event depends on many factors, including solar activity. When the sun becomes more active, the upper part of the atmosphere of our planet heats up and expands, which affects the movement of low -orbiting objects.
Langbroek said that the probe was originally equipped with a parachute, which was supposed to alleviate its landing on Venus. “However, I would not bet that it still works and I would assume that if the object survives again, it will fall with great force.” The first modeling indicated that Kosmos 482 can reach a speed of 65-70 meters per second at the time of hitting the ground or ocean (approx. 250 km/h).
She was supposed to survive on Venus. Will hit the ground in full? Where will it fall?
An even greater puzzle is the place of the fall of the probe. As explained by the promoter of astronomy Karol Wójcicki on the page “With the head in the stars” that the slope of Kosmos 482 relative to the equator is 51 degrees and 57 minutes. The facility can therefore fall anywhere in the area between the 52 N – 52 S parallelists. “This gives us a gigantic area of the Earth covering part of the American continent, a large part of Europe and Asia and all of Africa and Australia,” said the expert. Interestingly, the northern border, over which the probe may fall, runs through Poland.
Wójcicki explained that the object is a threat when falling to the ground – it was designed to survive the conditions in the atmosphere of Venus and reach its surface, where there is a temperature of 470 degrees Celsius and extremely high pressure. “Since he was about to cope there, he should not have a major problem with the earthly atmosphere. So there is no doubt that there is a great chance that he will fly through it and reach the surface. This is not a reason to panic, but it is worth being vigilant” – summed up the expert.
Kosmos 482 was built as a sister probe for Venera 8, the second man created by a man that landed on the hot surface of Venus. After reaching the site, the probe sent data for just over 50 minutes, after which it was burned by the planet's inhospitable atmosphere. If Kosmos 482 arrived at Venus, he would be called Venera 9, but after an unsuccessful start he was given such a typical of the objects encircling the Earth.
“With head in the stars”, Space.com, Earthsky
Source of the main photo: ESA/DAVID DUCROSS