Nearly 14 years after its launch, NASA’s Van Allen Probe A is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on the evening of March 10, bringing the mission of one of the agency’s most important radiation-belt research spacecraft to its final stage.
NASA predicts the roughly 1,323-pound satellite will descend through the atmosphere at approximately 7:45 p.m. EDT, though officials say the timing is uncertain by about 24 hours.
Most of the spacecraft is expected to burn up during re-entry, while a small portion of hardware could survive the descent. The risk of debris causing harm on the ground is considered extremely low, estimated at roughly 1 in 4,200, and tracking efforts will continue as the spacecraft approaches the atmosphere.
Launched on August 30, 2012, Van Allen Probe A and its twin spacecraft were designed to study the Van Allen radiation belts, zones of high-energy particles held in place by Earth’s magnetic field.
These belts help shield the planet from harmful radiation and solar storms, but they can also interfere with satellites, astronauts, and communication systems operating in space.
The mission was part of NASA’s Living With a Star program, which focuses on understanding how solar activity influences Earth and the surrounding space environment. By flying directly through the radiation belts—an area most spacecraft avoid—the probes gathered detailed data on how charged particles accelerate, move, and disappear during solar storms and other space weather events.
During the mission, scientists made several major discoveries, including the detection of a temporary third radiation belt that can form during periods of intense solar activity.
The spacecrafts were named after Dr. James A. Van Allen, a pioneering American physicist whose work helped shape modern space science. Using instruments aboard the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958, Van Allen discovered the radiation belts that now carry his name—regions of trapped charged particles encircling Earth.
He later served as a longtime professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Iowa, becoming a leading figure in magnetospheric physics. The mission was originally called the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, and was renamed in his honor shortly after launch.
Although the Van Allen Probes were initially planned for a two-year mission, they continued operating for nearly seven years before fuel depletion forced the spacecraft to shut down in 2019.
Early projections suggested Probe A would not re-enter Earth’s atmosphere until 2034. However, the current solar cycle has produced stronger-than-expected solar activity, increasing atmospheric drag and accelerating the spacecraft’s descent.
Even years after the mission ended, the data collected by the Van Allen Probes continues to inform research on space weather, helping scientists improve predictions that affect satellites, navigation systems, and power infrastructure on Earth.
Van Allen Probe B, the mission’s twin spacecraft, remains in orbit and is not expected to re-enter the atmosphere until the early 2030s.