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.
Russian space agency Roscosmos on Saturday said a Soviet space probe that 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.
It’s got to be devastating to scientists to watch your baby get flung into obscurity.
In NASA’s lessons learned database, there’s one where the probe made out all the way to its destination, but the pictures came back all black. Because they forgot to take off the lens cap.
Alternate headline: 50 year old Russian space junk falls back to earth.
That would be a headline about Russian army in Ukraine.
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 said, “Kosmos 482 no longer exists.”
Doubt
While Venus is about the same size as Earth, it is sometimes referred to as an “evil twin.”
The fuck? I have never heard it referred to as an ‘evil twin’. It’s fucking Venus. Goddess of beauty? Anyone?
I’ve heard evil twin before
same
I’ve heard it called Earth’s twin, but never specifically an evil twin.
Too bad we don’t yet have Steve Austin to save our butts from this. Reference for the young’uns: https://bionic.fandom.com/wiki/Death_Probe
