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On Nov. 9, 2012, NASA renamed the Radiation
Belt Storm Probes to the Van Allen Probes. The probes, shown here in an
artist's rendition, will help scientists study two giant belts of
radiation around Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Indeed, the preliminary data returned from the Van Allen Probes' first two months already has scientists very excited. The instruments all meet or exceed mission specifications and some papers and publications are already planned based on just the first few weeks of observations.
The probes have a planned two-year mission, each with a similar orbit that will carry the spacecraft through all parts of the radiation belts. The basic goal of the mission is to understand what causes the belts to swell and shrink in response to incoming radiation from the sun. Such changes in the belts can endanger satellites in space that orbit near the belts.
To distinguish between a host of theories developed over the years on the radiation belts, Van Allen Probe scientists have designed a suite of instruments to answer three main questions. Where do the extra energy and particles come from? Where do they disappear to, and what sends them on their way? How do these changes affect the rest of the magnetosphere? In addition to its broad range of instruments, the mission will make use of its two spacecraft to better map out the full spatial dimensions of a particular event and how it changes over time.
Scientists want to understand not only the origins of electrified particles – possibly from the solar wind constantly streaming off the sun; possibly from an area of Earth's own outer atmosphere, the ionosphere – but also what mechanisms gives the particles their extreme speed and energy.
"We know examples where a storm of incoming particles from the sun can cause the two belts to swell so much that they merge and appear to form a single belt," says Shri Kanekal, the Van Allen Probes' deputy mission scientist at Goddard. "Then there are other examples where a large storm from the sun didn't affect the belts at all, and even cases where the belts shrank. We need to figure out what causes the differences."
Of course, just like Explorer 1, any new spacecraft will provide unexpected observations that can dramatically change the models and theories about a given region of space. The magnetospheric science that James Van Allen helped initiate will surely provide additional surprises as the Van Allen Probes sweep their way through the radiation belts.
Karen C. Fox
Indeed, the preliminary data returned from the Van Allen Probes' first two months already has scientists very excited. The instruments all meet or exceed mission specifications and some papers and publications are already planned based on just the first few weeks of observations.
The probes have a planned two-year mission, each with a similar orbit that will carry the spacecraft through all parts of the radiation belts. The basic goal of the mission is to understand what causes the belts to swell and shrink in response to incoming radiation from the sun. Such changes in the belts can endanger satellites in space that orbit near the belts.
To distinguish between a host of theories developed over the years on the radiation belts, Van Allen Probe scientists have designed a suite of instruments to answer three main questions. Where do the extra energy and particles come from? Where do they disappear to, and what sends them on their way? How do these changes affect the rest of the magnetosphere? In addition to its broad range of instruments, the mission will make use of its two spacecraft to better map out the full spatial dimensions of a particular event and how it changes over time.
Scientists want to understand not only the origins of electrified particles – possibly from the solar wind constantly streaming off the sun; possibly from an area of Earth's own outer atmosphere, the ionosphere – but also what mechanisms gives the particles their extreme speed and energy.
"We know examples where a storm of incoming particles from the sun can cause the two belts to swell so much that they merge and appear to form a single belt," says Shri Kanekal, the Van Allen Probes' deputy mission scientist at Goddard. "Then there are other examples where a large storm from the sun didn't affect the belts at all, and even cases where the belts shrank. We need to figure out what causes the differences."
Of course, just like Explorer 1, any new spacecraft will provide unexpected observations that can dramatically change the models and theories about a given region of space. The magnetospheric science that James Van Allen helped initiate will surely provide additional surprises as the Van Allen Probes sweep their way through the radiation belts.
Karen C. Fox
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
A
broad suite of instruments on the Van Allen Probes will help scientists
understand more about the myriad types of particles and waves in the
radiation belts that encircle Earth, providing a flood of new data for
scientists who study the magnetosphere. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center
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Earth's magnetism has captured human attention since the first innovator
noticed that a freely moving piece of magnetized iron would always
align itself with Earth's poles. Throughout most of history, the origins
and physics of this magnetism remained mysterious, though by the 20th
century certain things had been learned by measuring the magnetic field
at Earth's surface. These measurements suggested that Earth's magnetic
field was consistent with that of a giant bar magnet embedded deep
inside Earth. However, the magnetic field observed at the surface of our
planet is constantly fluctuating. During the 1930s scientists pioneered
explanations that such fluctuations were due to streams of particles
from the sun striking and becoming entrapped within Earth’s magnetic
field.
Truly understanding Earth's magnetic environment, however, required traveling to space. In 1958, the first US rocket -- known as Explorer 1 and led by James Van Allen at the University of Iowa -- was launched. By providing observations of a giant swath of magnetized radiation trapped around Earth, now known as the Van Allen Belts, Explorer 1 confirmed that Earth's magnetic environment, the magnetosphere, was not a simple place. We now know that it has a complex shape – compressed on the side facing the sun, but stretched out into a long tail trailing off away from the sun -- affected as much by incoming material from the sun as Earth's own intrinsic magnetism. This magnetic field constantly fluctuates in response to both internal instabilities and events on the sun. It also provides a home for a host of electrified particles spiraling through this complex system.
A Scientific American article in 1963 said: "Conditions in the magnetosphere are so diverse and so variable . . . that millions of observations by scores of satellites and rocket probes have only begun to plot the broad outlines of this extension of the Earth into space." The age of magnetospheric science had begun, and it hasn't stopped yet. In 2012, those observations continue with the latest addition to NASA's heliospheric fleet: twin satellites launched on Aug. 30, 2012, originally named the Radiation Belt Storm Probes.
On Nov. 9, NASA announced that to honor the scientist who helped launched the field, the probes will be renamed the Van Allen Probes. The renaming comes simultaneously with a standard milestone for any NASA mission: the end of commissioning. Commissioning occurs after launch when all the instruments have been turned on and tested. The end of commissioning also marks the beginning of the prime science mission.
"We are excited to be honoring James Van Allen in this way," says David Sibeck, NASA's mission scientist for the Van Allen Probes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is an important mission that carries on early magnetospheric work. In the past we have only had one spacecraft at a time looking at the radiation belts. The state-of-the-art instruments we have now are going to be able to comprehensively observe all the types of particles and waves in this part of the magnetosphere."
Truly understanding Earth's magnetic environment, however, required traveling to space. In 1958, the first US rocket -- known as Explorer 1 and led by James Van Allen at the University of Iowa -- was launched. By providing observations of a giant swath of magnetized radiation trapped around Earth, now known as the Van Allen Belts, Explorer 1 confirmed that Earth's magnetic environment, the magnetosphere, was not a simple place. We now know that it has a complex shape – compressed on the side facing the sun, but stretched out into a long tail trailing off away from the sun -- affected as much by incoming material from the sun as Earth's own intrinsic magnetism. This magnetic field constantly fluctuates in response to both internal instabilities and events on the sun. It also provides a home for a host of electrified particles spiraling through this complex system.
A Scientific American article in 1963 said: "Conditions in the magnetosphere are so diverse and so variable . . . that millions of observations by scores of satellites and rocket probes have only begun to plot the broad outlines of this extension of the Earth into space." The age of magnetospheric science had begun, and it hasn't stopped yet. In 2012, those observations continue with the latest addition to NASA's heliospheric fleet: twin satellites launched on Aug. 30, 2012, originally named the Radiation Belt Storm Probes.
On Nov. 9, NASA announced that to honor the scientist who helped launched the field, the probes will be renamed the Van Allen Probes. The renaming comes simultaneously with a standard milestone for any NASA mission: the end of commissioning. Commissioning occurs after launch when all the instruments have been turned on and tested. The end of commissioning also marks the beginning of the prime science mission.
"We are excited to be honoring James Van Allen in this way," says David Sibeck, NASA's mission scientist for the Van Allen Probes at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is an important mission that carries on early magnetospheric work. In the past we have only had one spacecraft at a time looking at the radiation belts. The state-of-the-art instruments we have now are going to be able to comprehensively observe all the types of particles and waves in this part of the magnetosphere."
NASA Renames Radiation Belt Mission to Honor Pioneering Scientist
WASHINGTON -- NASA has renamed a recently launched mission that studies
Earth's radiation belts as the Van Allen Probes in honor of the late
James Van Allen. Van Allen was the head of the physics department at the
University of Iowa who discovered the radiation belts encircling Earth
in 1958.
The new name of the mission, previously called the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), was announced Friday during a ceremony at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md.
"James Van Allen was a true pioneer in astrophysics," said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "His ground breaking research paved the way for current and future space exploration. These spacecraft now not only honor his iconic name but his mark on science."
During his career, Van Allen was the principal investigator for scientific investigations on 24 Earth satellites and planetary missions, beginning with the first successful American satellite, Explorer I, and continuing with Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. He also helped develop the first plans for an International Geophysical Year was held in 1957. Van Allen, who worked at APL during and after World War II, also is credited with discovery of a new moon of Saturn in 1979, as well as radiation belts around that planet.
Launched Aug. 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Van Allen Probes comprise the first dual-spacecraft mission specifically created to investigate the radiation belts that surround Earth. These two belts encircle the planet and are filled with highly charged particles.
The belts are affected by solar storms and coronal mass ejections and sometimes swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications, GPS satellites and human spaceflight activities.
"After only two months in orbit, the Van Allen Probes have made significant contributions to our understanding of the radiation belts," says APL Director Ralph Semmel. "The science and data from these amazing twin spacecraft will allow for more effective and safe space technologies in the decades to come. APL is proud to have built and to operate this new resource for NASA and our nation, and we are proud to have the mission named for one of APL's original staff."
Operators have powered up all flight systems and science instruments on the probes. Data about the particles that swirl through the belts, and the fields and waves that transport them, are being gathered by five instrument groups designed and operated by teams at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark; University of Iowa in Iowa City; University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; University of New Hampshire in Durham; and the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Va.
The probes will spend two years looping through every part of both Van Allen belts. By having two spacecraft in different regions of the belts at the same time, scientists finally will be able to gather data from within the belts themselves, learning how they change over space and time. In addition, a space weather broadcast will transmit selected data from those instruments around the clock, giving researchers a check on current conditions near Earth.
The Van Allen Probes comprise the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
For more information about NASA's Van Allen Probes mission, visit:
The new name of the mission, previously called the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), was announced Friday during a ceremony at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md.
"James Van Allen was a true pioneer in astrophysics," said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "His ground breaking research paved the way for current and future space exploration. These spacecraft now not only honor his iconic name but his mark on science."
During his career, Van Allen was the principal investigator for scientific investigations on 24 Earth satellites and planetary missions, beginning with the first successful American satellite, Explorer I, and continuing with Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11. He also helped develop the first plans for an International Geophysical Year was held in 1957. Van Allen, who worked at APL during and after World War II, also is credited with discovery of a new moon of Saturn in 1979, as well as radiation belts around that planet.
Launched Aug. 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Van Allen Probes comprise the first dual-spacecraft mission specifically created to investigate the radiation belts that surround Earth. These two belts encircle the planet and are filled with highly charged particles.
The belts are affected by solar storms and coronal mass ejections and sometimes swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications, GPS satellites and human spaceflight activities.
"After only two months in orbit, the Van Allen Probes have made significant contributions to our understanding of the radiation belts," says APL Director Ralph Semmel. "The science and data from these amazing twin spacecraft will allow for more effective and safe space technologies in the decades to come. APL is proud to have built and to operate this new resource for NASA and our nation, and we are proud to have the mission named for one of APL's original staff."
Operators have powered up all flight systems and science instruments on the probes. Data about the particles that swirl through the belts, and the fields and waves that transport them, are being gathered by five instrument groups designed and operated by teams at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark; University of Iowa in Iowa City; University of Minnesota in Minneapolis; University of New Hampshire in Durham; and the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Va.
The probes will spend two years looping through every part of both Van Allen belts. By having two spacecraft in different regions of the belts at the same time, scientists finally will be able to gather data from within the belts themselves, learning how they change over space and time. In addition, a space weather broadcast will transmit selected data from those instruments around the clock, giving researchers a check on current conditions near Earth.
The Van Allen Probes comprise the second mission in NASA's Living With a Star program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
For more information about NASA's Van Allen Probes mission, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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