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Space

How asteroids can help us understand our place in the cosmos

With the recent launch of the Psyche mission and the return of samples from the asteroid Bennu, asteroids are all the rage – but if they're just big rocks floating in the void, why do scientists care so much about them?

By Leah Crane

9 October 2023

Artist’s illustration of the dust and gas surrounding a newly formed planetary system

NASA

The following is an extract from our monthly Launchpad newsletter, in which resident space expert Leah Crane journeys through the solar system and beyond. You can sign up for Launchpad for free here.

It seems like once every year or two, I have a couple weeks where it seems like all I’m writing about is rocks in space. Asteroids, comets (which are just wet asteroids), dwarf planets (big asteroids), moons (trapped asteroids), you get the gist. And…

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