The Van Allen radiation belt is a region around Earth with high-energy particles. It has an inner belt of protons and an outer belt of electrons. James Van Allen helped discover the inner belt, and the outer belt was found by Pioneer 3. The belts pose a risk to electronics and astronauts, so countermeasures are needed. The inner belt’s protons come from radioactive decay, while the outer belt’s electrons come from the sun. The belts can harm electronics and human health, so protection is necessary for interplanetary missions.
The Van Allen radiation belt is a region around the Earth that contains large numbers of trapped energetic particles. It consists of an inner belt of high-energy protons and an outer belt of electrons. The belt is named after a University of Iowa professor who was influential in its discovery. The radiation belt poses a risk to both the electronics and the astronauts who traverse it, so spacecraft typically require countermeasures to this threat if they need to traverse the region.
James Van Allen helped convince mission planners to include a Geiger counter on US Explorer 1 satellite to detect charged particles. This spacecraft discovered the inner radiation belt after it launched on January 31, 1958. Explorer 1 was flown in part in response to the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1, which started the space race. The outer belt was first detected by Pioneer 3, a lunar probe, on December 6, 1958. Indeed, other belts have been discovered between the inner and outer belts, but they were caused by transient solar activity and eventually they disappeared.
The inner radiation belt consists mainly of high-energy protons. The protons in the inner belt come from the radioactive decay of neutrons in the upper atmosphere. These neutrons originated from collisions between cosmic rays and atomic nuclei in space. Magnetic fields above about 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the Earth’s surface tend to keep these particles trapped above the atmosphere. Occasionally, however, these particles will impact the atmosphere and produce auroras, the polar displays of light in the sky.
The outer radiation belt, on the other hand, consists mainly of electrons. It is significantly further from Earth than the Inner Belt, sometimes reaching a distance of 10 Earth radii. The number of particles in the outer belt also tends to vary more than in the inner belt. Particles trapped in the outer radiation belt are thought to originate from the sun and are carried to Earth by the solar wind.
Radiation in the Van Allen belts can cause harm to both electronics and human health. Satellites orbiting the Earth have seen their electronics destroyed by geomagnetic storm activity. Spacecraft passing through the belts experience a similar increase in radiation levels. Astronauts in the radiation belt region would receive a much higher radiation dose than in low Earth orbit. Therefore, mission planners must develop methods to protect spacecraft and astronauts from the Van Allen belts during interplanetary missions.
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