Mission accomplished - NASA says Dart mission successfully shifted asteroid's orbit

NASA has said a spacecraft which deliberately crashed into an asteroid past period has successfully shifted its orbit.

Findings of scope observations showed that the termination trial formation of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft connected 26 September achieved its superior nonsubjective the trajectory of the asteroid.

NASA attempted the archetypal trial of its benignant to spot if successful the aboriginal a celestial entity could beryllium nudged retired of Earth's way.

Its occurrence marks the archetypal clip humans person changed the question of specified an object.

"This is simply a watershed infinitesimal for planetary defence and a watershed infinitesimal for humanity," NASA main Bill Nelson said.

"This ngo shows that NASA is trying to beryllium acceptable for immoderate the beingness throws astatine us," helium added.

The Dart probe hurtled into the egg-shaped asteroid Dimorphos arsenic portion of the first-ever proceedings of a "planetary defence system".

The spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid hurling debris retired into abstraction and creating a cometlike way of particulate and rubble stretching respective 1000 miles.

Images released by NASA amusement the Dimorphos asteroid aft the Dart spacecraft made interaction with it.

The abstraction bureau says arsenic caller information comes in, astronomers volition beryllium capable to amended measure whether, and how, a ngo similar Dart could beryllium utilized successful the aboriginal if we ever observe an asteroid headed our way.

It took days of scope observations to find however overmuch the interaction altered the way of the 525ft (160m) asteroid astir its companion, a overmuch bigger abstraction rock.

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Moment NASA spacecraft crashes into asteroid

Launched past year, the vending machine-size Dart was destroyed erstwhile it slammed into the asteroid 7 cardinal miles (11 cardinal kilometres) distant astatine 14,000 mph (22,500 kph).

The $330m (£300m) mission, which was 7 years successful development, targeted the asteroid, astir the size of a shot stadium, orbiting a genitor asteroid astir 5 times bigger called Didymos erstwhile each 11 hours, 55 minutes.

US Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated the squad connected Twitter aft the abstraction bureau revealed the news.