A Soviet-era spacecraft meant to land on Venus a half century ago is expected to plunge uncontrolled back to Earth within days.

Currently, Kosmos 482 is circling the planet at an orbit of around 140 kilometres at its lowest and 260km at its highest. This is rapidly dropping as it tumbles around the Earth, and experts predict the probe will soon hit the point of no return. Studies show this point for spacecraft like Kosmos 482 is approximately 125km above Earth.