A Failed Soviet Venus Probe From the '70s Crashed to Earth in May — Why Was It so Hard to Track?

A failed Soviet Venus probe from the '70s crashed to Earth in May — why was it so hard to track?

Different computer models were used to predict the reentry of the 1970s-era Soviet Venus craft Kosmos-482. Why were they divergent, and how can we improve our debris-fall forecasts?

Aftermath of a Failed Venus Probe’s Fall to Earth

The recent reentry of a mis-fired Soviet Union Venus probe to Earth from the 1970’s has become a detective story of when, where and what happened during its downfall. Different computer models were used to predict the reentry. But why were they divergent, and how best to improve our ability to nail down the “whereabouts […]