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Smashing success: Nasa's Dart spacecraft 'changed path of asteroid'
![Smashing success: Nasa's Dart spacecraft 'changed path of asteroid']()
Scientists have now confirmed the orbit of a 160m-wide (520ft) space rock known as Dimorphos was altered when the Dart probe struck it head on last month. Smashing success: Nasa's Dart spacecraft 'changed path of asteroid'
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A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test.
The American space agency says its recent attempt to deflect the path of an asteroid was successful.
Scientists have now confirmed the orbit of a 160m-wide (520ft) space rock known as Dimorphos was altered when the Dart probe struck it head on last month.
Researchers came to the conclusion after making measurements using a range of space and Earth-based telescopes.
The mission was conceived to test a potential strategy to defend the Earth against threatening objects.
Dart's achievement proves such an idea would work, provided it was initiated early enough and the target wasn't overly massive.
"This mission shows that Nasa is trying to be ready for whatever the Universe throws at us," said agency administrator Bill Nelson.
