A 1972 Russian probe is about to fall to Earth.

BarcelonaThe Kosmos 482 probe, launched by the former Soviet Union in 1972 bound for Venus, never left Earth's orbit and, after half a century, is expected to fall back to planet Earth this week. The device's orbit is declining and it is expected to "re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime between May 7 and 13," NASA said on its website Tuesday. Since it was designed to withstand passage through Venus's atmosphere, which is denser and hotter than Earth's, "it is possible that the probe (or some part of it) will survive re-entry into Earth and reach the surface."

However, there are many uncertain factors, because it cannot be ruled out that it could break up or disintegrate extensively when passing through Earth's atmosphere, Marco Langbroek, an astronomer at the University of Delft (Germany), said on his website, Efe reports. The probe has a semi-globular titanium protective shell, "a kind of metal cube, designed to survive passage through Venus' atmosphere" and was equipped with parachutes to slow its speed, although Langbroek doubts the deployment system will still work more than half a century later.

Because it is an uncontrolled reentry, it is not possible at this time to say "with any degree of certainty when and where" it will occur. The uncertainty will decrease as the expected date approaches, "but even on the day itself there will still be large uncertainties," he added. Langbroek wrote on social media on Tuesday that the most likely date is May 10, with a margin of error of 1.5 days before or after, but given the uncertainties, the forecast "is better expressed as a reentry window of several days, between May 9 and 13, rather than pinpointing a specific day."

The risks "are not especially high, but not zero either," with a mass of just under 500 kilos and a size of 1 meter, they are "similar to those of a meteorite impact," the astronomer indicated on the website, who has been following the case of this sound for years.

Kosmos 482 was an attempt within the Venere project, with which the USSR launched several probes to study the planet Venus. The launch took place on March 31, 1972, just a few days after that of the Venere 8 probe, but it failed in its attempt to escape low Earth orbit. After an apparent attempt to launch on a transfer trajectory to Venus, the craft broke into four pieces: two remained in low-Earth orbit and decayed within 48 hours, and the others (presumably the lander and the detached upper stage engine unit) entered a vegetable garden.