Itokawa, an asteroid that is considered dangerous to Earth, was discovered by Curtin University scientists. These bodies’ loose structures are capable of absorbing large amounts of the energy of an impact or explosion. It would be better to attempt to alter their trajectory.
Itokawa is a 330 meter diameter asteroid. It was the first time that matter was collected during a space mission. The Hayabusa 1 probe was launched by the Japanese space agency in 2003. Seven years later, a milligram of material from an asteroid’s surface was returned to Earth. Three dust particles were studied by Australian scientists to determine the structure and age of Itokawa. The object’s age is estimated to be 4.2 billion years. Its structure is similar to a pillow.
This asteroid does not consist of a solid block of stone but is made up of a mixture of boulders and loose rocks. It is also a sort of rubble pile with a lot of small stones and boulders. The object has more than half its surface empty. Because of this, it can absorb the impact of collisions and explosions. Itokawa is believed to have been formed from an old monolithic asteroid, which was broken up by a powerful impact. The gravity forces combined fragments of the rock and dust into a new structure. It is possible for other potentially hazardous objects to have the same structure.
Scientists say that one shouldn’t despair. An alternative way to save the Earth from being threatened by an asteroid is to create a nuclear blast nearby. This will make the object veer off-course without much damage. It is unlikely that the DART probe’s success in changing the orbit by hitting the Dimorph asteroid, however, will be of any use here.