Kosmos 482, a Soviet-era probe, is reentering Earth this month. Launched in 1972 for a Venus mission, it failed to escape Earth's gravity. Satellite t

Part of a spacecraft that has been stuck in orbit for 53 years is due to reenter Earth’s atmosphere around May 10 and could arrive intact.

In 1972, the Soviet Union’s Venera 8 spacecraft became the second ever to land on Venus. It operated for 50 minutes in the planet’s harsh environment before succumbing to the intense heat. But this intrepid lander once had a sister probe named Cosmos 482. It launched four days after Venera 8 but was unable to escape low-Earth orbit and broke apart.