Over a decade ago, NASA launched two probes to investigate the Van Allen belts —two rings of high-energy particles that encircle the Earth and protect it from harmful solar storms and cosmic radiation.

NASA's Van Allen Probe A is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere almost 14 years after launch. From 2012 to 2019, the spacecraft and its twin, Van Allen Probe B, flew through the Van Allen belts, rings of charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field,

NASA has disqualified one of the two proposals for a large astrophysics mission, a decision the project’s leader blames on upheaval within NASA last year.

NASA’s 1,323-pound Van Allen Probe A is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere nearly 14 years after its launch.

This reentry is notable because it poses a higher risk to the public than the US government typically allows. The risk of harm coming to anyone on Earth is still low, approximately 1 in 4,200, but it exceeds the government standard of a 1 in 10,000 chance of an uncontrolled reentry causing a casualty.

A 14-year-old NASA satellite that wasn't supposed to return until 2034 crashed into Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday morning, dragged down eight years early by the most hyperactive solar cycle in recent memory. The US Space Force confirmed Van Allen Probe A ...

One of NASA’s spacecraft could reenter the atmosphere at approximately 7:45 P.M. EDT tonight. When the 600-kilogram Van Allen Probe A reenters Earth’s atmosphere, it will largely burn up, but there