Van Allen Probes Overview

  • Released Friday, November 9, 2012
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The Van Allen Probes (formerly the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, RBSP) will explore the Van Allen Radiation Belts in the Earth's magnetosphere. The charged particles in these regions can be hazardous to both spacecraft and astronauts. Project Scientist Dr. David Sibeck explains the how the mission will explore space weather — changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun — that can disable satellites, create power grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will allow researchers to understand fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe.

The 2-year mission launched Thursday, Aug. 23 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The twin probes lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

RBSP Mission Overview

The two-year RBSP mission will help scientists develop an understanding of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and related regions that pose hazards to human and robotic explorers

For complete transcript, click here.

Instrument Overview

Dr. David Sibeck explains the instruments on the twin Van Allen Probes (formerly RBSP)

For complete transcript, click here.

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Friday, November 9, 2012.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:52 PM EDT.

Missions

This visualization is related to the following missions:

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Tapes

This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:
  • RBSP: Radiation Belt Storm Probe (ID: 2012076)
    Monday, August 20, 2012 at 4:00AM
    Produced by - Will Duquette (NASA)