Heliophysics

Van Allen Probes

In-Situ Probe · Directed · Agency-led · Launched on August 30, 2012 · Completed · LCC: $686M/$1.0B (2025 $)Life-cycle cost: NASA’s reported cost to build, launch, and operate a mission through its prime mission, plus documented partner contributions, in 2025 dollars. Extended missions are not included. Methods · Wikipedia

Scope Active Mission WindowActivePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through two years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. For Van Allen Probes, papers published November 1, 2012 to November 1, 2021. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. For Van Allen Probes, papers published from 2012 to November 3, 2026. Methods
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed papers we found that name the mission or its instruments in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. Papers that used the data without naming it are missed. Methods1,436
CitationsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods39,665
Citation indices
h-indexh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. Methods83
g-indexg-index: the largest g for which the g most-cited papers together hold at least g² citations. Like the h-index, but it lets the most-cited papers count for more. Methods141
m-indexm-index: a mission’s h-index divided by the years since its first peer-reviewed paper. It falls every 1 January even when nothing else changes; the figure shown is as of November 3, 2026. It also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods5.5
toritori (total research impact, from SciX): for every paper citing one of the mission’s papers, 1 divided by the citing paper’s reference count times the cited paper’s author count, summed, with self-citations removed. It favors citations from papers with short reference lists and from outside the mission’s own authors. Computed over the tracked citation graph, which can be slightly incomplete. Always over every tracked publication to date, whichever scope is chosen. Methods75
riqriq (research impact quotient): 1,000 times the square root of tori, divided by the years since the mission’s first paper. A rate, not a total, so it does not keep growing with age the way the h-index and tori do. Like tori, always over every tracked publication to date. Methods578

Publications and citations by year (lifetime)

Publications per yearCumulative citations

Institutional contributions (lifetime)The institutions SciX lists for each paper’s authors, as printed on the paper, located through the Research Organization Registry. A square counts a paper once, however many of its authors worked there. Methods

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Tracked publications over the lifetime (1,436)

All publications CSV · JSON

  1. The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) on RBSP

    Kletzing, C. A., 2013, SSRv

    1,110 lifetime citations

  2. Science Objectives and Rationale for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

    Mauk, B. H., 2013, SSRv

    994 lifetime citations

  3. Rapid local acceleration of relativistic radiation-belt electrons by magnetospheric chorus

    Thorne, R. M., 2013, Natur

    738 lifetime citations

  4. The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) Instruments Aboard the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Spacecraft

    Blake, J. B., 2013, SSRv

    575 lifetime citations

  5. Electron Acceleration in the Heart of the Van Allen Radiation Belts

    Reeves, G. D., 2013, Sci

    527 lifetime citations

  6. Science Goals and Overview of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma (ECT) Suite on NASA's Van Allen Probes Mission

    Spence, H. E., 2013, SSRv

    526 lifetime citations

  7. Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) Mass Spectrometer for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

    Funsten, H. O., 2013, SSRv

    489 lifetime citations

  8. The Electric Field and Waves Instruments on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

    Wygant, J. R., 2013, SSRv

    478 lifetime citations

  9. Electron densities inferred from plasma wave spectra obtained by the Waves instrument on Van Allen Probes

    Kurth, W. S., 2015, JGRA

    476 lifetime citations

  10. The Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope (REPT) Instrument on Board the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Spacecraft: Characterization of Earth's Radiation Belt High-Energy Particle Populations

    Baker, D. N., 2013, SSRv

    391 lifetime citations

  11. Effect of EMIC waves on relativistic and ultrarelativistic electron populations: Ground-based and Van Allen Probes observations

    Usanova, M. E., 2014, GeoRL

    333 lifetime citations

  12. Source and seed populations for relativistic electrons: Their roles in radiation belt changes

    Jaynes, A. N., 2015, JGRA

    279 lifetime citations

  13. Earth's Van Allen Radiation Belts: From Discovery to the Van Allen Probes Era

    Li, W., 2019, JGRA

    256 lifetime citations

  14. The occurrence and wave properties of H⁺-, He⁺-, and O⁺-band EMIC waves observed by the Van Allen Probes

    Saikin, A. A., 2015, JGRA

    231 lifetime citations

  15. A Long-Lived Relativistic Electron Storage Ring Embedded in Earth’s Outer Van Allen Belt

    Baker, D. N., 2013, Sci

    225 lifetime citations

  16. Radiation belt electron acceleration by chorus waves during the 17 March 2013 storm

    Li, W., 2014, JGRA

    219 lifetime citations

  17. Resonant scattering and resultant pitch angle evolution of relativistic electrons by plasmaspheric hiss

    Ni, Binbin, 2013, JGRA

    215 lifetime citations

  18. Statistical properties of plasmaspheric hiss derived from Van Allen Probes data and their effects on radiation belt electron dynamics

    Li, W., 2015, JGRA

    208 lifetime citations

  19. Energy-dependent dynamics of keV to MeV electrons in the inner zone, outer zone, and slot regions

    Reeves, Geoffrey D., 2016, JGRA

    183 lifetime citations

  20. An impenetrable barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts

    Baker, D. N., 2014, Natur

    176 lifetime citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Science Explorer (SciX) for peer-reviewed articles naming Van Allen Probes in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces.

((=abs:"Van Allen Probes" OR =abs:"Van Allen Probe" OR =abs:"Radiation Belt Storm Probes" OR (abs:RBSP AND abs:(ECT OR EMFISIS OR EFW OR RBSPICE OR MagEIS OR REPT OR magnetic OR plasma OR "radiation belt" OR mission)))) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2012-11 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "ACPD" OR "AIASJ" OR "AMTD" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "BGD" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "CliPD" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "ESDD" OR "ESSDD" OR "ESuDD" OR "GID" OR "GMDD" OR "GeCAS" OR "HESSD" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NHESD" OR "NPGD" OR "NewSc" OR "OcScD" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SOILD" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "TCD" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Added after review (4)

  1. Rapid local acceleration of relativistic radiation-belt electrons by magnetospheric chorus Van Allen Probes discovery of rapid electron acceleration by chorus waves. Decision 🤖
  2. An impenetrable barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts Van Allen Probes discovery of a barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons. Decision 🤖
  3. Global-scale coherence modulation of radiation-belt electron loss from plasmaspheric hiss Van Allen Probes and BARREL discovery of coherent hiss-driven electron loss. Decision 🤖
  4. A Long-Lived Relativistic Electron Storage Ring Embedded in Earth’s Outer Van Allen Belt Mission's first published science result: REPT discovery of a transient third radiation belt. Decision 🤖

Removed after review (14)

  1. 2012GMS...199..415H Review of earlier plasma wave observations; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  2. 2014JGRA..119.6455W THEMIS bow shock methods paper; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  3. 2014JGRA..119.6475W THEMIS bow shock study; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  4. 2019GeoRL..46.1947D Ground and POES wave study; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  5. 2019GeoRL..46.4098G THEMIS chorus wave statistics; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  6. 2020JGRA..12528487P PROBA-V radiation belt study; does not name the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  7. Design and Instrument Characterization of the High-Energy Resolution Relativistic Electron Telescope (HERT) Using Geant4 Simulation Design of a CubeSat electron telescope; mentions the Van Allen Probes only as context. Decision 🤖
  8. Heliophysics Great Observatories and international cooperation in Heliophysics: An orchestrated framework for scientific advancement and discovery Proposal for a future heliophysics program; lists the Van Allen Probes among past missions. Decision 🤖
  9. The Medium Energy Electron Telescope (MEET): Geant4-Based Instrument Design and Analysis Design of a proposed electron telescope; mentions the Van Allen Probes only as motivation. Decision 🤖
  10. The Relativistic Electron Magnetic Spectrometer (REMS) Instrument Describes the REMS instrument for the GTOSat mission; not a Van Allen Probes paper. Decision 🤖
  11. Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Education and Public Outreach Program Describes the mission's education and public outreach program; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  12. The Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) Overview of the BARREL balloon mission; a companion mission, not the Van Allen Probes. Decision 🤖
  13. On the Challenges of Measuring Energetic Particles in the Inner Belt: A Geant4 Simulation of an Energetic Particle Detector Instrument, REPTile-2 Design of the REPTile-2 telescope for another CubeSat; mentions the Van Allen Probes as a predecessor. Decision 🤖
  14. The ELFIN Mission Overview of the ELFIN CubeSat mission; mentions the Van Allen Probes only as a concurrent mission. Decision 🤖