Monday, March 9, 2026

The NASA Dart mission has proven that asteroids can exchange dust and stones.





“[Left] The boulder-covered moon Dimorphos as seen 8.55 seconds before the impact of the DART spacecraft. [Right] The same image after correcting for lighting conditions across the surface and shadows cast by boulders, revealing a fan-shaped pattern of streaks (highlighted in color for emphasis). Credit: NASA/JHU-APL/UMD” (ScitechDaily, “At First, We Thought Something Was Wrong” – NASA DART Mission Reveals a Cosmic Snowball Fight)

“Images from NASA’s DART mission revealed the first direct evidence that asteroids in a binary system can exchange rocks and dust. Slow-moving debris from the asteroid Didymos appears to have struck its moon Dimorphos, leaving distinctive streaks scientists describe as “cosmic snowballs.” (ScitechDaily, “At First, We Thought Something Was Wrong” – NASA DART Mission Reveals a Cosmic Snowball Fight)

The gravity of asteroids is very weak. But. It’s strong enough that asteroids can pull particles like dust and stones from other asteroids. That thing is one of the most interesting things. That the Dart probe uncovered. The ability to “steal” . Other asteroids' material. Gives interesting ideas. About the possibilities that this thing can give. Can there be asteroids that carry material? That comes from some interstellar visitors. Interstellar asteroids and interstellar comets can contain interesting molecules from other solar systems. 



3I/ATLAS photographed in color by the Gemini North telescope on 26 November 2025 (Wikipedia, 3I/ATLAS)

The ability to exchange dust and stones brings new interesting questions. Could there be asteroids in the Kuiper Belt that “stole” particles from the  interstellar asteroid 1I/Oumuamua? And interstellar comets 2I/Borisov, or 3I/ATLAS? If that kind of asteroid exists. The interstellar comets spread particles. All around their path. And it’s theoretically possible to find those particles from the solar system. The AI can calculate those. Comets’ trajectories. And help to find asteroids that bind those particles on their surfaces. 

And. The origin of  those stones and dust can be confirmed to be in those interstellar visitors. Which could be the key to gathering information. About some ancient solar system. There is a possibility that those asteroids are some ancient star’s Kuiper Belt. And then a nova or a supernova pushed them out of their solar system. 

There is a possibility that the remnant.  The interstellar asteroids are left in the solar system. They can uncover new things about planet formation. The problem is that those particles are very hard. To separate from particles whose origin is in our solar system. Oumuamua and 3/ATLAS didn’t leave many particles. But samples of the ice that covers Oumuamua would give interesting information about the origin of that asteroid. There is a possibility that interstellar asteroids and comets can contain water from some extraterrestrial planet. But anyway, they can transport chemical compounds from other solar systems. 


https://scitechdaily.com/at-first-we-thought-something-was-wrong-nasa-dart-mission-reveals-a-cosmic-snowball-fight/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3I/ATLAS


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2I/Borisov


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1I/%CA%BBOumuamua




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The NASA Dart mission has proven that asteroids can exchange dust and stones.

“[Left] The boulder-covered moon Dimorphos as seen 8.55 seconds before the impact of the DART spacecraft. [Right] The same image after corre...