NASA satellite set to arrive after 14 years in space
· Toronto Sun
A ground-breaking NASA satellite was set to return to Earth after nearly 14 years in orbit, People.com reported.
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NASA said in a statement that the 1,323-pound Van Allen Probe A was expected to burn up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere on Tuesday night, with a remote 1-in-4,200 chance of its debris harming anyone on Earth. NASA isn’t sure of the exact ETA, but has given the satellite a 24-hour margin of uncertainty.
‘Don’t worry about it’: Astrophysicist
An expert says not to worry about a close encounter with falling space debris.
“For the average person, it will be a nice light in the sky if you get lucky and, otherwise, don’t worry about it,” retired astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told The New York Times , adding Chinese rockets that fall out of the sky are much worse.
“We have much more scary re-entries that happen. Occasionally, there is a 20-ton Chinese rocket stage that comes down. Those are much scarier for me.”
Unprecedented data
Van Allen Probe A and its counterpart, Van Allen Probe B, have gathered significant data on Earth’s two radiation belts since they were launched in August 2012.
The belts are named after scientist James Van Allen. Per NASA, they “are key to predicting how solar activity impacts satellites, astronauts, and even systems on Earth such as communications, navigation, and power grids.” The space agency ended the mission in 2019 after the satellites ran out of fuel and could no longer orient themselves toward the sun.
“The Van Allen Probes were the first spacecraft designed to operate and gather scientific data for many years within the belts, a region around our planet where most spacecraft and astronaut missions minimize time in order to avoid damaging radiation,” NASA said.
Significant discoveries
Originally only slated for a two-year mission, the Van Allen probes flew through the radiation belts to understand more about harsh space environments nearest Earth, essentially “space weather,” according to NASA. The probes made observations that have been cited in more than 600 publications and 55 Ph.D. theses.
“With instruments measuring electromagnetic fields and charged particles, the Van Allen Probes explored the invisible phenomena shepherding particles in and around the belts,” NASA said . “It made discoveries about the architecture of the belts and the forces shaping them. Just as ocean storms on Earth can create giant waves, space weather, caused by the Sun, can create plasma waves, where seas of particles are tossed by electromagnetic fields. The Van Allen Probes pioneered new explorations into the dynamics of these waves and their effects on our near-Earth environment.”