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A piece of an old Soviet spacecraft has likely returned to Earth. It had orbited our planet for over fifty years. The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed that fragments from Kosmos 482 were involved. The spacecraft launched in 1972 and was built to visit Venus. However, it never left Earth's orbit. Shortly after launch, the rocket broke apart, leaving four separate pieces circling the Earth. Now, one of these pieces has finished its long journey.
The EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) center reported the event. One specific fragment, believed to be the lander capsule, entered the atmosphere at approximately 06:16 GMT on Saturday. As it began its final journey through the air, the object encountered intense friction and heat. Despite this confirmation, scientists remain uncertain. They do not know if the object burned up completely or if any part reached the ground. It is also unclear exactly where the re-entry occurred.
While experts do not know the exact path of the debris, the risk to people is very low. About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, meaning the object was much more likely to have fallen into the sea. Stijn Lemmens, a senior analyst at the European Space Agency, explained the risk: "It's much more likely that you win the lottery than that you get impacted by this piece of space debris." This highlights just how rare it is for space debris to harm humans.
The Kosmos 482 lander capsule was built to survive the extreme conditions on Venus, where the atmosphere features very high pressure and intense heat. To survive, the capsule was equipped with a robust heat shield and a tough frame. These engineering features were designed for a dangerous planet, and experts believe they helped the object survive the fall through Earth's atmosphere. Unlike smaller pieces of space junk, this lander was strong enough to endure the friction of re-entry.