... NASA's Van Allen Probes discover a surprise circling Earth . ... VAN ALLEN BELTS . Two giant swaths of radiation, known as the Van Allen belts, surrounding Earth were discovered in 1958. In 2012, observations from the Van Allen Probes showed that a third belt can sometimes appear. ... Itт??s a rite of passage for any new satellite in space, and such a schedule was in place for the Van Allen Probes when they launched August 30, 2012, to study two giant belts of radiation that surround Earth. ...