Launched in 2012, NASA’s twin Van Allen radiation belt probes have been swinging through the hazardously charged-particle region around Earth while returning valuable scientific data that has not only helped scientists better understand this protective region around Earth but also plan for future missions of exploration that will travel beyond the Van Allen belts.
More than six years after launch, controllers have begun the process of ending the Van Allen probes mission by lowering their orbital perigees from 385 miles (619 km) to 190 miles (305 km) – a change that will set up an end to the probes’ mission in early 2020 and a controlled re-entry roughly 15 years from now.