Original: The density measured by NEAR Shoemaker, 1,300 kg\/m Â, is less than half that of a typical carbonaceous chondrite; this may indicate that the asteroid is very loosely packed rubble pile.
Simplified: The density measured by NEAR Shoemaker, 1,300 kg\/m Â, is less than half that of a normal carbonaceous chondrite; this may indicate that the asteroid is very loosely packed rubble pile (an asteroid that has been broken apart by a collision and pulled back together by gravity).