Did you know that there are some ancient asteroids that are particularly difficult to destroy? All in our Solar System. Even in the face of missions of success, like NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), it takes a little more than the Kinetic impulse of DART to destroy these asteroids that cause concern.
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Known as "heap of rubble", they are more dangerous than the already known monoliths. Monoliths have a classic shape, are composed of a piece of solid rock and their lifespan is not comparable to indestructible ones. As the name implies, these asteroids are grouped in piles, originating from the joining of several fragments of a monolith asteroid that has suffered partial destruction.
A researcher at Curtin University claimed that this grouping makes them immune to impacts and collisions, in other words, the lifespan of asteroids is not yet known. This point was identified through the analysis of three tiny dust particles from the asteroid Itokawa.
They were brought to Earth in 2010 by a Japanese space mission.
Electron beams were used to find out if that rock had already suffered an impact and to analyze what the meteor's age would be. The technique used was that of argon. In this way, it was possible to discover that the asteroid before Itokawa was 20 kilometers long. The impact that separated the fragments occurred more than 4.2 billion years ago, that is, it predates even the Solar System itself.
According to the researchers, the useful life of this asteroid is explained by its hollow core, which increases its resistance capacity, absorbing shocks. The conclusions of studies and other missions have shown that there are more asteroids that are difficult to destroy than previously thought. About this, the professor and co-author of the research commented:
"It is highly likely that if a large asteroid is approaching Earth, it will be a pile of debris."
Although it seems scary news, this discovery makes it possible for space agencies to be more prepared against this type of asteroid. The teacher suggests a way to stop them: “A more aggressive approach, like using the shock wave of a nearby nuclear explosion to push a rubble pile asteroid off course without destroy it”. Really… there is still an infinity of things to know about the space.
