CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft rammed an asteroid at blistering velocity Monday in an unprecedented costume rehearsal for the day a killer rock menaces Earth.
The galactic grand slam was set to happen at a innocent asteroid 7 million miles (9.6 million kilometers) away, with the spacecraft named Dart plowing into the rock at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). Scientists anticipated the influence to carve out a crater, hurl streams of rocks and dust into area and, most significantly, alter the asteroid’s orbit.
Telescopes around the globe and in area have been poised to seize the spectacle. Although the influence must be instantly apparent — with Dart’s radio sign abruptly ceasing — it will likely be days and even weeks to find out how a lot the asteroid’s path was modified.
The $325 million mission is the primary try and shift the place of an asteroid or…
