Recent posts on X and web reports indicate heightened interest in the Soviet Cosmos 482 Venus probe, which is expected to make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere around May 10, 2025.
Here's a breakdown of the situation:
- Cosmos 482: This was a Soviet Venus probe launched in 1972. Due to a rocket malfunction, it never reached Venus and remained in Earth orbit.
- Re-entry: After 53 years in orbit, Cosmos 482's descent craft (the lander module) is now predicted to re-enter Earth's atmosphere around May 10, 2025, with a potential window of plus or minus 3.1 days.
- Telescopic Images: Satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh from the Netherlands has captured new high-resolution images of the lander in Earth orbit.
- Parachute Speculation: Vandebergh noted that several image frames appear to show a "weak elongated structure" extending from the compact ball shape of the lander. He speculates this could be the parachute that was intended for the Venusian atmosphere. He had also observed a similar structure in older images from 2014.
- Uncertainty: Vandebergh cautions that the object might be tumbling, which could make the potential parachute visible only intermittently. Further analysis of the imagery is needed for a more definitive conclusion.
- Lander Design: The Cosmos 482 lander was specifically designed to withstand the harsh conditions of Venus's atmosphere, including high temperatures and pressures. This has led to speculation that it might survive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere relatively intact and potentially reach the surface.
- Re-entry Zone: The lander's orbital inclination of 51.7 degrees means that its re-entry could occur anywhere between 52 degrees North and 52 degrees South latitude.
- Potential Impact: While the risk of impact on populated areas is considered low due to the Earth's vast ocean coverage, there is still a possibility of debris reaching the ground. Experts estimate a potential impact velocity of around 145 miles per hour (65-70 meters per second).
General Information about Soviet/Russian Venus Landers:
- The Soviet Union's Venera program was highly successful in studying Venus, achieving several milestones, including the first spacecraft to enter another planet's atmosphere (Venera 3), the first soft landing on another planet (Venera 7), and the first images from the surface of another planet (Venera 9).
- Venera landers were designed to withstand extremely high temperatures (up to around 450-470 °C) and crushing atmospheric pressures (over 90 times that of Earth at the surface).
- These landers used various methods for descent, including parachutes for initial deceleration in the upper atmosphere and aerodynamic braking closer to the surface. Some missions used multiple parachutes, including drogue and main chutes.
- The operational lifespan of the Venus landers on the surface was typically short, ranging from a few minutes to around two hours, due to the extreme environmental conditions.
- Later Venera missions, such as Venera 13 and 14, even transmitted color images and performed soil analysis on the Venusian surface.
It remains to be seen whether the elongated structure observed in the Cosmos 482 images is indeed the parachute and if it will play any role in the lander's re-entry. Space enthusiasts and experts will be closely monitoring its descent in the coming days.