A failed Soviet spacecraft has crashed back down to Earth during an 'uncontrolled re-entry' after being stuck in space for 53 years. The spacecraft, called Kosmos 482, was launched in 1972 and once bound for Venus, but a malfunction meant it never left our planet's orbit.

After more than half a century orbiting Earth, the Soviet-era space probe Cosmos 482 has brought its long and ultimately failed interplanetary mission to an end with a

The probe is projected to crash between between 52° North and 52° South - a big span of the Earth that just includes a snippet of West Cork. Because more than 70% of the planet's surface is covered in water, experts add that it will more than likely land in the ocean.