The European Space Agency says its GOCE research satellite will crash to Earth on Sunday night or during the day on Monday, but debris is unlikely to cause any casualties.
Scientists say the 1,100-kilogram satellite already has fallen to an altitude of 170 kilometers and is spiraling steadily downward.
Once it reaches an altitude of 80 kilometers the earth observation satellite will break apart and four-fifths will burn in the atmosphere.
ESA said Friday that humans are 250,000 times more likely to win the lottery than to get hit by the debris weighing up to 90 kilograms that may survive the breakup.
