A NASA spacecraft could crash into the Earth today. The chances of it hitting someone are tiny, but not zero

In 2012, NASA launched two probes into space: Van Allen Probe A and Van Allen Probe B. Their goal was to collect data on charged particles passing through Earth’s magnetic field.

Those particles can wreak havoc on communications and other technologies on our planet, so understanding them is important.

In 2019, the Van Allen Probes’ mission ended. With its fuel spent, the “A” probe is set to reenter Earth’s atmosphere today, and the parts of it that are not burned up upon reentry...