NASA's spacecraft to kick asteroid off course(1/3)

An illustration of NASA's DART spacecraft on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorphos. (Photo/Agencies)

A spacecraft built by NASA is set to intentionally crash into a small asteroid as part of a planetary protection test mission. The spacecraft, known as Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), is expected to collide with an asteroid in the early hours of Thursday, September 27.

The goal of the DART missions is to hit an asteroid with a spacecraft to slightly alter its trajectory. (Photo/Agencies)

An illustration of NASA's DART spacecraft on a collision course with the asteroid Dimorphos. (Photo/Agencies)