A Soviet-era spacecraft built to land on Venus is falling to Earth instead

Kosmos 482, a Soviet-era spacecraft from the Venera mission that failed to reach Venus, is set to reenter Earth's atmosphere soon after misfiring on its original journey toward Venus over five decades ago. With a titanium heat shield and structures built for extreme temperatures, it has a higher chance of surviving the intense forces during reentry compared to typical space debris. While most space junk burns up or breaks apart, Kosmos 482 is "highly likely" to reach Earth's surface in one piece.