After looping through space for 53 years, a wayward Soviet spacecraft called Kosmos-482 returned to Earth, entering the dense layers of the planet’s atmosphere at 9:24 a.m. Moscow time on Saturday, according to Roscosmos, the Russian state corporation that runs the space program.
Designed to land on the surface of Venus, Kosmos-482 may have remained intact during its plunge. It splashed down in the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia, Roscosmos said.
The Soviet spacecraft Kosmos-482, intended for Venus but stranded in Earth’s orbit for 53 years, crashed into the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, confirmed the re-entry and impact.
The spacecraft, designed to land on Venus, may have remained mostly intact during its plunge through Earth’s atmosphere.
