NASA launches spacecraft to kick an asteroid off course

By Agence France-Presse

Nov 25, 2021 12:02 am

Updated at 12:02 am Nov. 24, 2021

WASHINGTON: A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid — a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth — blasted off Tuesday from California.

It may sound like science fiction, but the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) is a real proof-of-concept experiment, which lifted off at 10:21 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday (0621 GMT Wednesday) aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

In this handout image courtesy of NASA released on November 23, 2021, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft onboard, November 23, 2021, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid -- a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth -- blasted Bill INGALLS / NASA / AFP

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Updated at 12:02 am Nov. 24, 2021WASHINGTON: A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid — a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth — blasted off Tuesday from California.

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Updated at 12:02 am Nov. 24, 2021

WASHINGTON: A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid — a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth — blasted off Tuesday from California.