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Gravity Poppers: Hopping Probes for the Interior Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies

Gravity Poppers: Hopping Probes for the Interior Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies
Gravity Poppers: Hopping Probes for the Interior Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies This illustration shows Gravity Poppers: Hopping Probes for the Interior Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies, a concept presented at the 2025 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium. The project envisions swarms of small, low-cost probes that “pop” across the surfaces of asteroids or comets. By tracking their movements from orbit, scientists could map the objects’ gravity fields and reveal their internal structures. Benjamin Hockman