The Icarus issue for Dec (vol. 442) brings us:
Tusberti, F. Pajola, M. Penasa, L. et al. Lithologies of Dimorphos revealed by boulder morphological classes Art. 116744 .2025.116744
Rubino, S. Zambon, F. Brunetto, R. et al. Space weathering on Vesta: Ion bombardment induced changes on HEDs in visible and infrared reflectance Art. 116755 .2025.116755
Correa-Otto, J. A. García-Migani, E. Gil-Hutton, R. On the possible activation of quasi-Hilda comets by Jovian tides Art. 116767 .2025.116767
Sánchez, P. Scheeres, D. J. Dynamics of a granular asteroid after a subsonic DART-like impact Art. 116741 .2025.116741
Ochiai, Y. Ida, S. Shoji, D. Exploring impact vapor plume reactions from asteroidal impacts: Monte Carlo simulations and implications for biomolecules synthesis Art. 116736 .2025.116736
The DART program: aside from the impact experiment, it constitutes one of our (still few) asteroid close-up missions. The high-res DRACO camera onboard DART got a quite good look at half of Dimorphos; what might we glean from a quick look? Tusberti et al. try to parse the images.
Vesta: one of our more promising asteroid targets. The asteroid is in the nearer part of the Main Belt, and gets hit with no shortage of micrometeorites and not-so-micro ones. We know this from the carbonaceous deposits on it, which clearly came from other (carbonaceous) asteroids. How does space weathering work on Vesta, one of the few known differentiated asteroids?
Hilda asteroids: possibly comets in disguise. The outer Main Belt contains the Hilda objects, small bodies that never get warm and would not release water- are they comets, or not, or a third thing? And what about the (known) comets that kinda, but don’t quite fit the Hilda definition?
Particle simulations: a truly cross-disciplinary and compelling technology. Besides planetary defense (here) and galaxy simulations, particle codes are useful in the construction, mining, and food industries. Sánchez et al. apply it to Dimorphos and Dimorphos-like asteroids, on behalf of our planet.
Organic compounds: common on some asteroids (the carbonaceous ones) but absent on the early Earth and its natural satellite. They had to be brought in via impactors. But the impact of an asteroid, and certainly a comet, is fast and violent; many molecules, including water, are lost back to space in the vaporization of the impact, or even destroyed outright. What survives- including reformation and re-synthesis- when a carbonaceous body reaches a surface at speed?