Kosmos 482

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/kosmos-482

1. What is the intended target?
2. What is the launch vehicle?
3. What was Kosmos 482 and why did it fail to reach Venus?
4. How long did the Kosmos 482 descent craft stay in orbit before it came back to Earth?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the intended target?Venus
2. What is the launch vehicle?Soviet Union
3. What was Kosmos 482 and why did it fail to reach Venus?Kosmos 482 was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 to study Venus. It could not escape Earth's gravity because its ascent trajectory was wrong, so it stayed in Earth orbit.
4. How long did the Kosmos 482 descent craft stay in orbit before it came back to Earth?The descent craft orbited Earth for over 33 years, from 1972 until it reentered in 2025.

Escape Velocity: The minimum speed an object needs to overcome a celestial body's gravitational pull.
Orbital Decay: The gradual decrease in an object's orbital altitude due to atmospheric drag or other forces.
Atmospheric Entry: The process of an object entering a planet's atmosphere from space.