Moscow: A probe launched from the Soviet Union more than five decades ago has plummeted back to Earth, splashing down in the Indian Ocean. Kosmos 482 had been bound for Venus but never reached its destination.

According to Deutsche Welle, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced on Saturday that a Soviet space probe, which took off in March 1972 to explore the planet Venus, crashed into the Indian Ocean.

Planetary lander Kosmos 482 never made it to Earth’s sister planet because it was dragged off course after a malfunction in its launch vehicle’s upper stage. Kosmos 482 was part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious Venera program, which sent multiple probes to Venus between 1961 and 1983. The mission was to deliver a lander equipped with scientific instruments-including a gamma-ray spectrometer, photometer, and atmospheric sensors-to study Venus’s surface and atmosphere.

While several Venera probes successfully transmitted data from Venus’s surface, Kosmos 482 went off-course soon after its launch. A techn
ical mishap in the upper stage of the launch vehicle meant the probe, also known as Venera 4, never left Earth’s orbit and remained in a highly elliptical orbit around Earth for more than half a century before gradually descending.

The nearly 500-kilogram spacecraft, measuring approximately one meter in diameter, had been closely tracked by space agencies concerned about potential dangers upon reentry. Experts previously warned that due to its sturdy construction-it was designed to survive Venus’s harsh atmosphere-the probe could reach Earth’s surface largely intact. However, Roscosmos stated, “Kosmos 482 no longer exists.”

Russia has announced plans to launch a new, long-term mission to Venus, known as Venera-D or Venera 17, marking a continuation of the Soviet-era program. While Venus is about the same size as Earth, it is sometimes referred to as an “evil twin.” Extreme temperatures, crushing pressure, poisonous atmosphere, corrosive clouds, and intense geological activity make it one of the most inhospi
table environments in our solar system.