A Soviet-era Venus spacecraft, Kosmos 482, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday after 53 years in orbit. Launched in 1972, it failed to leave Earth’s orbit due to a rocket malfunction. The spacecraft’s uncontrolled descent was confirmed by Russian and European space agencies, with its reentry believed to be over the Indian Ocean.

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• Soviet probe Kosmos 482 fell to Earth after 53 years in orbit
• Failed Venus mission launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union
• Reentry likely over Indian Ocean; exact site unconfirmed
• EU, Russia, and U.S. agencies tracked the reentry event
• Spacecraft designed to survive Venus landing, built with titanium
• Final reentry component was a 1-meter-wide spherical lander
• Lander weighed ~495 kg; likely increased survival chances
• Risk to people was extremely low, scientists confirmed
• Solar activity and age made trajectory hard to predict
• Any surviving debris legally belongs to Russia under UN treaty