Asteroid Dirt is “Fluffier” Than We Thought

Video of OSIRIS-REx touching down on the asteroid Bennu. Credit - NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The strength of gravity is different on every body in the solar system. Whether it’s the crushing weight of Jupiter or the miniscule pull of a small asteroid, this fundamental force of physics still has a major impact on the material those bodies are made up of. A new paper from researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) showcases just how different it can be by letting planetary simulants freefall inside a giant drop tower and measuring how “fluffy” the space dirt got.

Universe Today
Go to Source

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.