Most satellites, not designed to withstand high levels of particle radiation, wouldn’t last a day in the Van Allen Radiation belts. Trapped by Earth’s magnetic field into two giant belts around the planet, high-energy particles in the region can batter the spacecraft and even interfere with onboard electronics. But NASA’s Van Allen Probes have been traveling through this hazardous area since Aug. 30 2012 – they are now celebrating their fifth year in space studying this dynamic region.