A landmark NASA mission has successfully smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid. The dramatic test was the first to trial how dangerous objects could be prevented from striking the planet.
The US space agency launched a self-driving probe to Dimorphos, a 170-metre wide asteroid which did not pose a threat. The collision was used to test methods that would 'bump' away hazardous rocks hurtling toward Earth.
Thousands watched on a livestream when the collision happened just after midnight on Tuesday in the UK. NASA staffers erupted in cheers when the vending-machine sized probe slammed head-on into Dimorphos.
