NASA spacecraft prepares to collide with an asteroid to divert its course

On Monday, NASA will attempt an unprecedented feat: a spacecraft deliberately collided with an asteroid to divert its course, in a major test of humanity’s ability to prevent cosmic bodies from destroying life on Earth.

The Double Asteroid Reduction Test (DART) spacecraft was launched from California last November and is rapidly approaching its target, which it will reach at a speed of 23,000 km. Its size is smaller than the size of a car, its diameter is about 160 meters.