Asteroids: rocky time capsules
The main asteroid belt is a wide region, not the tightly packed obstacle course often shown in films. Spacecraft can navigate it because typical separations are enormous.
Asteroids preserve clues about early planetary formation, though collisions and heating can alter them. Their compositions vary; one returned sample cannot represent every asteroid.
Wonder about this
Would crossing the asteroid belt mean constantly dodging touching rocks?
A science clue
No. The belt contains a great deal of empty space.