NASA launches world’s first DART Mission to crash Spacecraft into Asteroid

The US space agency NASA has launched a mission to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid — the world’s first to test asteroid-deflecting technology. The space probe will crash into the asteroid to alter its speed and course. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the DART experiment lifted off at 10:21 pm Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base near California in the US, NASA TV’s live stream showed. DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

The $325 million DART mission was launched into orbit on November 24, 2021 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission aims to test asteroid-deflecting technology. The purpose of the mission is to crash a space probe into the asteroid so as to alter its speed and course so prevent it from hitting the Earth.