This NASA spacecraft will smash into an asteroid—to practice saving Earth

The DART mission will try to alter a harmless asteroid’s orbit, a technology that could one day defend Earth from armageddon.

Like many of the solar system’s rocky objects, Earth bears the scars of past asteroid impacts—including some wallops that shaped the arc of life itself. Some 66 million years ago, for instance, a six-mile-wide asteroid slammed into Earth near Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, triggering a mass extinction that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.

Now for the first time in our planet’s history, Earth is going to hit back.

At 10:21 p.m. Pacific Time on November 23, a NASA mission called DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to embark on a nearly year-long voyage around the sun. If all goes well, DART’s journey will end on the evening of September 26, 2022, when the golf cart-size spacecraft will

Unlock this story for free
Create an account to read the full story and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles.

Unlock this story for free

Want the full story? Sign up to keep reading and unlock hundreds of Nat Geo articles for free.
Already have an account?
SIGN IN

Read This Next

Why are these orcas killing sharks and removing their livers?
How to eat in 6 of the world’s most stunning places
Cliff art reveals the majesty of the Amazon’s aquatic realm

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet