A Nasa spacecraft weighing more than 600kg has fallen back to Earth nearly 14 years after it was launched.
Van Allen Probe A re-entered Earth’s atmosphere near the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean at about 10:37 GMT on Wednesday. Most of the spacecraft burned up as it rushed through the sky, but scientists believe some pieces may have survived.
The probe was first sent into space in 2012 as part of a pair of satellites built to study the Van Allen belts. These belts are huge rings of radiation that surround Earth like two giant doughnuts. They are made of highly charged particles and help protect our planet by trapping dangerous solar wind and cosmic radiation. This harmful radiation can be dangerous for people and can also damage technology in space.
The mission was meant to last for two years, but the probe kept working for seven years until it ran out of fuel. Recently, the spacecraft had been moving around Earth in an uneven orbit. Nasa had always planned for the old probe to be destroyed by Earth’s atmosphere instead of being left drifting in space. This helps stop old spacecraft from crashing into working satellites or craft such as the International Space Station.
At first, Nasa thought the probe would return in 2034, but the Sun became more active than expected. In 2024, scientists said the Sun had reached its solar maximum, which caused stronger space weather and pulled the spacecraft down sooner.
Van Allen Probe B, the twin satellite, is not expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere before 2030.
