• A Soviet-era spacecraft, Kosmos 482, plunged to Earth after 53 years in orbit.
• Launched in 1972, it was meant for Venus but malfunctioned and remained in Earth's orbit.
• The spacecraft's entry and possible debris were tracked by multiple space agencies.
• Experts had predicted the spacecraft might survive reentry, increasing public interest.
• Its wreckage is expected to belong to Russia under a UN treaty.

A Soviet-era spacecraft known as Kosmos 482 plunged to Earth on Saturday after being stranded in orbit for more than half a century following its failed launch to Venus. Its uncontrolled reentry was confirmed by both the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, which indicated that the spacecraft might have come down over the Indian Ocean, although other experts remained uncertain about the exact location. The European Space Agency's space debris office tracked its descent after it failed to appear over a German radar station, according to trtglobal, cbsnews, scmp, and latimes.

Experts had warned prior to the reentry that some or all of the spacecraft, which weighs more than 1,000 pounds (approximately 495 kg) and is encased in titanium, could potentially survive its descent, as it was designed to endure landings on Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system. Despite the fears of debris causing harm, scientists emphasized that the likelihood of anyone being hit by the falling wreckage was exceedingly low, according to trtglobal and cbsnews.

Launched in 1972, Kosmos 482 was part of a Soviet mission series aimed at Venus. However, it never escaped Earth's orbit due to a rocket malfunction, leading it to remain stranded. Much of the spacecraft returned to Earth within a decade of its failed launch, leaving the spherical lander as the last component to descend back to the planet. As its orbit decayed over the years, scientists and military experts struggled to predict exactly when or where the spacecraft might land, with factors such as solar activity complicating the situation, according to scmp and latimes.

As anticipation built around its reentry, there was disappointment among some observers regarding the uncertainty of its exact final landing spot. Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek lamented on social media, “If it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,” highlighting the challenges of tracking such events. By Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraft’s demise as it continued to collect and analyze data from orbit, according to cbsnews and latimes.