Kosmos 482: The Soviet-era Venus probe that fell to Earth

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society

Technology, Science

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A Soviet-era Venus probe, Kosmos 482, spent 53 years in Earth's orbit before crashing back to the planet. Seismologist Ben Fernando explains its history, reentry, and how seismic technology could help track space debris.

Transcript

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0:00.0	A long-forgotten Soviet spacecraft finally returns to Earth.
0:07.3	This week on Planetary Radio.
0:13.9	I'm Sarah al-Ahmad of the Planetary Society, with more of the human adventure across our solar system and beyond.
0:21.3	On May 10th, Cosmos 42, a Soviet-era spacecraft that was originally designed to land on Venus,
0:27.9	mysteriously plunged back to Earth after more than five decades in orbit,
0:32.3	leaving experts scrambling to determine where it landed.
0:35.6	I spoke with Ben Fernando, seismologist and planetary scientist from Johns Hopkins University.
0:40.3	He'll help us unravel the mystery of Cosmos 482's fall,
0:44.3	why we don't know exactly where it landed,
0:46.3	and how new technologies are allowing us to better track these events.
0:50.3	Then Bruce Betts, our chief scientist, joins me for What's Up,
0:53.3	and a look at other large human-made objects that have fallen back to Earth.
0:57.6	If you love planetary radio and want to stay informed about the latest space discoveries,
1:01.8	make sure you hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcasting platform.
1:05.2	By subscribing, you'll never miss an episode filled with new and awe-inspiring ways to know the cosmos and our place within it.
1:12.6	The Venera program was one of the Soviet Union's most ambitious space exploration projects.
1:18.6	It was designed to unlock the mysteries of Venus.
1:21.6	And to this day, our only close-up images of the surface of that world come from those spacecraft.
1:31.1	Cosmos 482 was meant to be a part of that storied mission.
1:33.9	It launched in March of 1972.
1:38.3	Its lander was engineered to endure the surface conditions on Venus.
1:42.1	That includes hellish temperatures and crushing atmospheric pressure.
	...

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