Overview
- Researchers from the University of Oxford and the startup OuSoCo irradiated a Campo del Cielo iron–nickel meteorite at CERN’s HiRadMat facility using 440 GeV proton pulses to mimic a nuclear stand-off event.
- Sensors captured a transition from softening and flexing to re-strengthening, indicating an approximate 2.5× increase in yield strength during successive high-energy pulses.
- The material displayed strain‑rate dependent damping, meaning it dissipates more energy under faster loading, a behavior that reduces the likelihood of catastrophic breakup in metal‑rich bodies.
- Published in Nature Communications, the results support models that a nearby nuclear detonation could redirect an asteroid without fragmenting it, complementing kinetic‑impactor strategies demonstrated by NASA’s DART mission.
- The team cautions the findings come from a single, relatively homogeneous sample and calls for tests on more heterogeneous compositions plus improved modeling, noting that real nuclear deflection cannot be trialed in space.