Kosmos 482, a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 with a mission to Venus, has finally crashed back to Earth after being stuck in low Earth orbit for over 50 years. The spacecraft reentered the atmosphere at approximately 2:24 a.m. ET and landed in the Indian Ocean, according to various space agencies. While estimates suggest it may have survived the reentry due to its robust design, its ocean landing complicates recovery efforts. Scientists express interest in studying the craft to gain insights for future space exploration missions, particularly Mars.
If you can learn about whether it's still good or why it went bad, that will help you when you're designing spaceships to go to Mars.
NASA said it was "possible" that Kosmos 482 survived reentry. The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking network said it "most likely survived and reached the ground almost intact."
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