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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Marcia Dunn

NASA crashes spacecraft into asteroid to push it off course in landmark defense test

In this image provided by NASA, an impact plume emerges from the asteroid Dimorphos, left, after DART collides into it on Sept. 26, 2022, orbiting the larger asteroid Dimorphos. - (NASA/ASI/University of Maryland/Tony Farnham/Nathan Marder via AP)

An asteroid, previously used by NASA for a planetary defense test, has been successfully shifted onto a slightly altered path around the sun, scientists reported on Friday. This landmark achievement could pave the way for diverting potentially hazardous space rocks in the future.

The deliberate alteration marks the first instance of a celestial body's solar orbit being intentionally changed. Crucially, the asteroid impacted by NASA's DART spacecraft never posed a threat to Earth.

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