Kosmos 482 was part of the Soviet Union's storied Venera program of Venus exploration. The probe launched toward the second planet from the sun in 1972 but never got there; its rocket suffered an anomaly, stranding Kosmos 482 in an elliptical orbit around Earth.

The failed Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 has finally returned to Earth after 53 years in orbit. It disappeared into the Indian Ocean early Saturday morning.