On September 26, 2022, NASA's golf cart-sized DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft intentionally crashed into a distant asteroid. The spectacular collision, observed by telescopes worldwide, was NASA's first practical attempt to alter the path of an asteroid. The $325 million mission was part of the space agency's overall planetary defense strategy to protect Earth from the impact of an errant space rock.
By Karen Levy - 316 words