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14 years after its launch/ NASA spacecraft weighing over 600 kg re-enters Earth's atmosphere

2026-03-12 20:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

14 years after its launch/ NASA spacecraft weighing over 600 kg re-enters

The Van Allen Probe spacecraft weighing more than 600 kg has re-entered Earth's atmosphere, almost 14 years after its launch.

The US Space Force confirmed the probe's reentry on Wednesday over the eastern Pacific region. Most of the probe, which was launched in 2012, was expected to burn up as it traveled through the atmosphere, although some components may have survived.

The space agency said there was a one in 4,200 chance that a part of the probe would cause harm to a person on Earth, which it characterized as a "low" risk.

The spacecraft and its "twin," Van Allen Probe B, were on a mission to collect unprecedented data on Earth's two permanent radiation belts.

The mission, which was originally designed to last two years, lasted nearly seven years. It ended after the spacecraft ran out of fuel and were no longer able to orient themselves toward the Sun.

The probes flew through rings of particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field from 2012 to 2019, with the aim of studying how particles were gained and lost, according to NASA.

Those rings, called the Van Allen belts, protect Earth from cosmic radiation, solar storms and the flowing solar wind, which are harmful to humans and can damage technology.

The mission made important discoveries, including the first data showing the existence of a third band of transient radiation, which can form during times of intense solar activity, NASA said. The Van Allen B probe is not expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere before 2030. /CNA





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