asteroid with a five-pound copper projectile had a much smaller effect than expected – leading scientists to conclude that asteroids are better at soaking up damage than previously thought.The results of the 2019 experiment were revealed in a virtual presentation at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on 15 March by Gaku Nishiyama at the University of Tokyo.He described how, on April 5 2019, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft fired a single-shot “gun” at asteroid Ryugu, using a 10lb explosive propellant charge.The “bullet”, a Small Carry-on Impactor, was a 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) copper projectile deigned to leave a fresh crater on the asteroid's surface for scientists to study.While the bullet left a crater some 33 feet across, scientists also.
Read more on dailystar.co.uk