Before a Soviet-era spacecraft intended for Venuscrashed back to Earth over the weekend,Animation Archives German astronomers watched it tumble through space.
As Kosmos 482took its last laps, a German radar station spotted the uncrewed landing capsule passing over its antenna. The station, the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR, has combined its observations with an image of a similar capsule to show the spacecraft's orientation and features in the radar reflection.
The data, presented as a GIF farther down in this story, helped the European Space Agency track the probein its final hours, though its final resting place — most likely a watery grave — is still unknown.
If it indeed plunged into the Indian Ocean as some computer simulations have suggested, "only the whales and albatross saw it," said Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek in a poston X.
SEE ALSO: Stunning video reveals Jupiter's roiling auroras. See it now.
A predecessor to the lost Soviet spacecraft, either the Venera 5 or Venera 6 capsule, is being prepared for launch in January 1969, in this still image taken from the film "The Storming of Venus." Credit: Sovfoto / Universal Images Group / Getty Images The Venera mission, which launched from Kazakhstan on March 31, 1972, failed long before the Soviet Union could attempt to touch down on Venus. Because of a propulsion problem, it never escaped Earth's orbit. A half-century later, the landing capsule was predicted to reenterthe atmosphere. That day arrived on Saturday, May 10.
Space debris and expired satellites often fall back to Earth inconsequentially, mostly burning up on the way down. Whatever survives often plummets into an ocean, never to be found.
This anticipated-yet-uncontrolled reentry was to be exceptional, though: It grabbed the attention of researchers and military officials because of its potential to survive the journey mostly intact. After all, the 1,000-pound spacecraft was built to withstand the harsh environment of an alien planet — the hottest in the solar system, in fact. Venus' climatecould melt lead, and the atmospheric pressure is 75 times that of Earth.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Watch the GIF of the tumbling Soviet spacecraft in the above X post. Credit: Fraunhofer FHR
Fraunhofer FHR was likely the last to see Kosmos 482. It passed about 62 miles overhead on May 10, at 8:04 a.m. CEST, according to the station. When the object was not detected again one orbit later, at 9:32 a.m. CEST, researchers reasonably assumed the landing or splashdown occurred between those two times.
A tracking and imaging radar like the one used by the German station is a way to observe space, but it's not a telescope. It uses radio waves instead of light to study objects, such as satellites, debris, and meteors.
Exactly where and when this Cold War space race relic died is unclear, as it seems there were no eyewitnesses to the fall. The Russian Space Agency Roscosmossaid it plummeted over the Indian Ocean, west of Jakarta, Indonesia, at 9:24 a.m. Moscow time, according to a Telegram post, and NASAappears to be accepting of that data. Other reports, some based on earlier predictions, varied.
The U.S. Space Command, which tracks reentering space objects, has not confirmed any reports or provided its own data on Kosmos 482. An information request from Mashable wasn't answered Tuesday.
Ryzen 5 1600X vs. 1600: Which should you buy?
UK decides high
Ranking the romances (real and imagined) of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'
Doctor Who Facebook lens lets fans experience Time Lord regeneration
Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
The Uber ban in London only hurts the people who need it the most
China reiterates stance on internet regulation to Google and Facebook
Rian Johnson explains why the ending of 'Last Jedi' is all about Luke
No Time for a Negative Peace
Mindy, Reese, and Oprah crush it in 'Wrinkle in Time' cast photo
Boeing's new VR simulator immerses astronauts in space training
RIP, Rhode Island statehouse Christmas tree (2017
'The Greatest Showman': Critics review roundup
RIP, Rhode Island statehouse Christmas tree (2017
NYT mini crossword answers for May 9, 2025
Bitcoin Cash became very valuable after Coinbase's big announcement
What is MoviePass? They just hit 1 million subscribers
Mindy, Reese, and Oprah crush it in 'Wrinkle in Time' cast photo
New MIT report reveals energy costs of AI tools like ChatGPT
French soccer star Antoine Griezmann under fire for blackface costume
'Call Me By Your Name' is the rare case when movie should precede bookStedman Graham fuels hopes for Oprah's unlikely presidential runFamily buys amazing 22Family buys amazing 22Amy Schumer calls out 'E! News' for pay disparity ahead of Golden GlobesGuillermo Del Toro totally shut down the Golden Globes' attempt to hurry up his speechAfter a monster run, Ethereum is the number two cryptocurrency againThe next frontier for selfDogecoin inventor thinks the cryptocurrency bubble will blow up in everyone's face'Star Trek: Discovery' gets dark in Episode 10, 'Despite Yourself'Jessica Biel's 'The Sinner' is the most bingeGolden Globes 2018: Debra Messing calls out E! gender pay issue on red carpetInsta360 Nano S, announced at CES, turns your iPhone into a 360 cameraJames Franco wouldn't let Tommy Wiseau steal his thunder at the GlobesSteve Carell met Kelly Clarkson at the Golden Globes and it's perfectHelena Bonham Carter cast in Netflix's 'The Crown' Season 3Sarah Silverman responded to a troll with kindness and it was beautifulWhat happens when governments get into cryptocurrencyHow to protect your bitcoins from Spectre and MeltdownNetflix mixes 'Black Mirror' and 'Breaking Bad' together for ad Deadly Louisiana deluge had a major climate change assist, study finds Apple announces Australian prices for the iPhone 7 and it ain't cheap Parody site encourages an 'upgrade' to iPhone 7 by plugging up your headphone jack Everyone has the same fear about Apple's new earbuds A Florida Congressman just brought a jar of 100 mosquitoes onto the House floor Cam Newton's mom reads a passage from 'Watership Down' in new Under Armour ad The 5 biggest takeaways from the Apple event Dude unexpectedly snaps the perfect sunset wedding photo Kid writes essay about her true hero who conquered adversity: Darth Vader Apple finally announced when iOS 10 will be released to everyone Mosaic sushi will satisfy your obsession with neatness and food Apple just dropped some hot new Beats headphones The iPhone now comes in black, and an even blacker black You fall, you rise: Paralympian gets straight back up after dropping torch Apple's iPhone 7 just singlehandedly killed the 'hand me the aux cord' meme Indians will have to shell out at least $900 to buy the iPhone 7 when it goes on sale in October The PlayStation 4 gets a slimmer, sleeker redesign Open water nears North Pole as 2016 melt season races to finish This may be the most brutally effective Facebook prank of all time Jet Black iPhone 7 fine print: No 32GB version, prone to scratches
2.4222s , 10131.6875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Animation Archives】,Feast Information Network