BREAKING: Nasa crashes Dart spacecraft into asteroid seven million miles from Earth
The $325m mission was the first attempt to shift the position of an asteroid or any other natural object in space.
Dimorphos is a “moonlet” about 160m wide. It orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos. It was chosen due to its proximity to Earth and the ability to measure its movements with a telescope. Planetary defence experts prefer nudging a threatening asteroid or comet out of the way, given enough lead time, rather than blowing it up and creating multiple pieces that could rain down on Earth.
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