But it may be severely damaged on impact,” said Marcin Pilinski, a scientist from the University of Colorado Boulder.
It was quite unlikely to affect populous regions, according to Mr. Pilinski. Its batteries were thought to be long gone and its parachutes obsolete by now.
According to Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek, if the probe survives, it will be approaching Earth at around 150 miles per hour.
When the satellite was launched in 1972, its goal was to join other spacecraft in the Venera program by traveling to Venus.
But this one was locked in orbit around Earth due to a rocket failure. It was predicted that gravity would ultimately bring about its demise since it continued to pull.
