The spacecraft, which was launched into orbit by the Soviet Union in 1972, is expected to enter Earth's atmosphere around May 10, and its exact landing location remains unknown.
The Cosmos-482 mission was intended to send a spacecraft to Venus, but due to a malfunction in the upper stage accelerator, it remained in orbit around our planet.
Marco Langbroek, a lecturer in space situational awareness at the Netherlands' Delft University of Technology, discovered information about the spacecraft's return to Earth.
“Since this lander was designed to survive entry into Venus' atmosphere, there is a chance that it could also survive entry into and impact with Earth's atmosphere without significant damage,” Lanbrook wrote in his blog.
According to him, the risks are not significant, but not zero, and they can be compared with the risk of a meteorite falling.
Dutch satellite tracking expert Ralf Vandeburg said his images showed the Cosmos capsule in low Earth orbit.
“We see a clear, compact object! I think this set is already quite impressive,” Vandeburg said.
He added that the capsule can rotate, and in some images it appears to have a weak, elongated structure on one side that could be a parachute that would open if the rocket booster failed.
Although re-entry into Earth's atmosphere is predicted to occur on May 10, the actual re-entry may occur several days earlier or later than that date.
Sourse: www.upi.com
