NASA To Crash Spacecraft Into Asteroid

(Washington, DC)  —  NASA is set to purposely crash a spacecraft into an asteroid Monday.  The so-called “Double Asteroid Redirection Test” or “DART” will test whether it’s possible to deflect a space rock on a collision course with Earth.  The over 500-foot asteroid known as Dimorphos poses no threat to the planet, but scientists are eager to see if their probe will alter its nearly 12-hour orbit around larger asteroid Didymos.  The DART spacecraft is scheduled to smash into the space rock at a staggering 15-thousand miles per hour at 7:14 p.m., Eastern time.  The collision will air live on NASA TV.