Twin NASA probes exploring the harsh radiation belts around Earth have a new name honoring the late James Van Allen the pioneering scientist who first discovered the radiation zones, the space agency announced today (Nov. 9).

The heavily armored spacecraft were initially called the Radiation Belt Storm Probes when they launched in late August. They will now be known as the Van Allen Probes for the remainder of their two-year mission, NASA officials said.

"James Van Allen was a true pioneer in astrophysics," former astronaut John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement. "His groundbreaking research paved the way for current and future space exploration. These spacecraft now not only honor his iconic name but his mark on science."

Honoring a Space Age pioneer

The Van Allen radiation belts consist of two regions around Earth where our planet's magnetic field has trapped trillions of high-energy solar particles. James Van Allen discovered the belts in 1958, just one year after the Soviet Union blasted humanity's first-ever satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit.[Video: Probes to Investigate Radiation Belt]

"The Van Allen belts were the first discovery of the Space Age," Rick Fitzgerald, Space Department program area manager at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, said during the renaming ceremony today. APL manages the Van Allen Probes mission for NASA.

James Van Allen was principal investigator for studies on 24 Earth satellites and planetary missions during his long career, NASA officials said.

The physicist worked on the first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, whose observations helped confirm the existence of the radiation belts. He also discovered similar belts around Saturn and detected one of the ringed planet's moons in 1979, among many other accomplishments. Van Allen died in 2006.

Understanding the belts

The inner Van Allen belt usually extends from the top of Earth's atmosphere to about 4,000 miles up (6,437 kilometers), while the outer one runs from around 8,000 to more than 26,000 miles above our planet (12,874 to 41,842 km). The belts are dynamic, however, and can expand greatly during solar storms.

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NASA Probes Exploring Earth's Radiation Belts Get New Name