NASA's 'Radiation Belt Storm Probes' Mission: Can It Solve The Van Allen Belts Puzzle?

It has been almost five decades since the Van Allen belts were discovered, but little is known about them. Named after the scientist, who discovered them, the two dough-nut shaped, concentric rings can cause potential damages to power grids and satellites. The earth’s magnetic fields are strong enough to trap electric particles like electrons and protons close to the atmosphere and that might have given rise to these belts. These belts are said to be under the powerful influence of the Sun. But to what extent? How do the belts change over space and time? What is a possible solution to the problems they cause?
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NASA is attempting to answer all these questions with its latest mission, RBSP (Radiation Belt Storm Probes). The Atlas V rocket, set to be launched from Cape Canaveral, will carry two RBSP spacecrafts. During their two year mission, the two spacecrafts will follow identical orbits but they will move at different speeds and will meet every 75 days or so. They will travel straight into both belts and collect first real data set on the Van Allen regions. This mission might help answer the questions relating to structure of the belts and how their intensities fluctuate over time. Watch the Video for more details:



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