A Soviet spacecraft is set to fall back to Earth in the next week. Nobody knows where it will land.

A Soviet spacecraft that stalled connected its mode to Venus is astir to autumn backmost to Earth, space-debris trackers say, and cipher knows wherever it mightiness land.

Trackers deliberation the entity that's rapidly losing altitude successful Earth's orbit is the Venus introduction capsule from the Soviet Union's Kosmos 482 mission. That means it's a three-foot-wide, half-ton, titanium-encased sphere that was built to withstand a brutal plunge to the surface of Venus.

Since Venus's ambiance is astir 100 times denser than Earth's and its aboveground is astir 900 degrees Fahrenheit, this spacecraft is built tough.

It's astir apt beardown capable to past the autumn backmost to Earth without burning up successful our atmosphere, according to Patricia Reiff, a prof of physics and astronomy astatine Rice University.

"It has a vigor shield and it is besides much dense than a batch of the mean space debris," Reiff told Business Insider. "The likelihood are very, precise precocious that it volition autumn harmlessly to Earth, but determination is that tiny percent and truthful we surely privation to beryllium alert."

When, where, and however large the fireball volition be

Kosmos 482 was the past of a bid of probes the Soviet Union launched to Venus successful the 1960s and 70s. This 1 ne'er made it retired of Earth's orbit owed to an engine malfunction.

A inactive from the movie "The Storming of Venus" depicts 1 of the Soviet Union's Venus missions, launched successful 1969. Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Venus introduction capsule is the last portion of Kosmos 482 that's inactive hanging around. A ample module from the ngo and the precocious signifier of its rocket some fell into Earth's ambiance uneventfully successful the 1980s.

Based connected its existent trajectory, experts expect the spacecraft volition descend truthful debased that it volition succumb to the resistance of Earth's ambiance and plummet down sometime betwixt May 7 and 13.

It's excessively aboriginal to cognize wherever the Venus capsule volition reenter Earth's atmosphere, overmuch little wherever it volition land.

Most of the satellite is water, truthful it's highly improbable that the capsule volition strike people oregon property.

"I expect it'll person the accustomed one-in-several-thousand accidental of hitting someone," Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer who tracks notable objects successful orbit, wrote successful a blog station successful April. He added that, though the spacecraft is dense, it has nary nuclear materials connected board.

"No request for large concern, but you wouldn't privation it bashing you connected the head," helium added.

As the capsule descends little into the atmosphere, Reiff said NASA's orbital-debris trackers volition beryllium capable to cipher the past fewer orbits it volition marque earlier falling. Then they'll person a scope of places it mightiness land.

The spacecraft's plummet volition beryllium disposable to anyone adjacent arsenic a big, beauteous fireball, according to Reiff.

"A emblematic meteor is similar a atom of sand. A mean fireball mightiness beryllium a marble. This is simply a metre across, truthful it's big," Reiff said. "It should beryllium spectacular."