from Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2012) — NASA’s very first small explorer, the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer or SAMPEX, was launched July 3, 1992 to study the zoo of particles and cosmic rays surrounding Earth. Surviving much longer than its expected mission of three years and providing invaluable observations for those who study space weather, the SAMPEX mission is now almost over. In early November, the spacecraft’s orbit will decay enough that it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, burning up completely on re-entry. . . . Read Complete Report

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Photo Below: SAMPEX data have provided some of the most useful observations of the Van Allen Belts — two rings of radiation around Earth. This SAMPEX data shows the belts during what’s known as the Halloween Storms in October 2003, a time when the radiation belts around Earth swelled so much that they merged into a single ring. (Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) SOURCE Science Daily.