The density measured by NEAR Shoemaker, 1,300 kg/m³, 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). The same is true of several C-type asteroids studied by ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics systems (45 Eugenia, 90 Antiope, 87 Sylvia and 121 Hermione). Up to 50% of the volume inside of 253 Mathilde has open space. However, the existence of a 20-km-long scarp may indicate that the asteroid does have some structural strength, so it could contain some big internal components. The low interior density is an inefficient transmitter of impact shock through the asteroid, which also helps to preserve the surface features to a high degree.