Context: A piece of a Soviet spacecraft, Kosmos 482, launched more than 50 years ago crashed back to Earth, splashing into the Indian Ocean off Jakarta's western coast, Indonesia.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482.
Kosmos 482 Mission:
- Kosmos 482 Mission is one among the series of probes launched to explore Venus by the erstwhile Soviet Union. Under the Venera Program, the Soviet Union sent 28 spacecraft to Venus between 1961 and 1984.
- The probe was launched in 1972 with the purpose of landing on Venus. It consisted of various instruments to measure the temperature, pressure, wind speed, visibility, atmospheric gases and rock composition, and radio the results back to Earth.
What went wrong with Kosmos 482?
- Soon after the launch, a malfunction took place in the rocket. The upper rocket stage/engine (that was meant to propel the Kosmos 482 out of the Earth orbit) shut off too early due to a timer malfunction.
- As a result, the spacecraft was left stranded in an orbit around the Earth. The lander module, which was supposed to land on Venus, broke apart from the main spacecraft. It kept orbiting the Earth for over 50 years. The main spacecraft, which was large and heavy, burned up in the (Earth’s) atmosphere.
- Within the period of over 50 years, the spacecraft's orbit decayed slowly as the atmospheric drag slowly pulled it towards the Earth, leading to its re-entry into the Earth.
Concerns:
- Growing space junk: Kosmos 482's reentry into the Earth serves as a reminder of the growing issue of space junk. While most space objects plunge into Earth's atmosphere and burn up; some particularly heavy or dense objects such as Kosmos 482, survive the hot reentry.
- Environmental damage: Researchers also warn that satellite and space reentry can discharge harmful pollutants in the atmosphere of Earth and destroy the ozone layer and the environment at large, leading to climate change.
Also Read: What is Satellite Pollution?
With the volume of space traffic increasing, space debris management and minimising its environmental impacts will be an increasingly important issue.