A NASA satellite weighing approximately 600kg – named Van Allen Probe A – is currently making an uncontrolled descent to Earth, with the space agency acknowledging that some components may survive the violent re-entry into our planet’s atmosphere.
“NASA expects most of the satellite to be destroyed as it travels through the atmosphere, but we anticipate some components will survive re-entry,” reads a statement published by NASA. The Van Allen Probes were instrumental in expanding our understanding of Earth’s radiation belts, a critical area of space physics.
“The risk to anyone on Earth is low – approximately 1 in 4,200. NASA and the Space Force will continue to monitor the re-entry and update predictions,” the agency explains.
Launched in 2012, the Van Allen Probe A mission concluded in 2019. NASA originally predicted re-entry would occur around 2034, but an unexpectedly active solar cycle has accelerated the satellite’s descent, and it is now expected to occur in the coming hours.
The Van Allen Probe A was launched alongside Van Allen Probe B, another satellite also expected to fall to Earth in the coming years, though NASA anticipates that event will not happen until 2030.
