The test was carried out to see if in the future a giant rock could be nudged out of Earth's way and its success marks the first time humans have changed the motion of a celestial object.
NASA has said a spacecraft which deliberately crashed into an asteroid last month has successfully shifted its orbit.
Findings of telescope observations showed that the suicide test flight of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft on 26 September achieved its primary objective the trajectory of the asteroid. NASA attempted the first test of its kind to see if in the future a celestial object could be nudged out of Earth's way."This is a watershed moment for planetary defence and a watershed moment for humanity," NASA chief Bill Nelson said.
"This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," he added. The Dart probe hurtled into the egg-shaped asteroid Dimorphos as part of the first-ever trial of a"planetary defence system".
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