A space probe called Kosmos 482 sent to explore Venus by the U.S.S.R. in 1972 but marooned in Earth orbit ever since is about to renter and crash-land.

For example, the lander measured a surface temperature of almost 900 degrees Fahrenheit (475 Celsius), or about as hot as a brick pizza oven. Although the probe’s pressure sensor failed during ...

Cosmos (or Kosmos) 482's orbit has slowly brought it closer to our planet since 1972, and now it's on the cusp of plummeting ...

The LISTER payload is designed to measure two different aspects of heat flow: both how the temperature ... under the surface, pausing every half-meter to collect data using a probe.

which safeguards the probe from the sun's intense heat, enabling its electronics and instruments to function at room temperature — even while it faces directly toward our star to collect solar ...