# In a first test of its planetary defense efforts, NASA’s going to shove an asteroid

- Link: https://www.widthness.com/in-a-first-test-of-its-planetary-defense-efforts-nasas-going-to-shove-an-asteroid/
- Published: 2021-11-24T10:00:02-06:00
- Author: Curated by Theresa Wysocki

Image caption: An illustration of the DART spacecraft approaching two asteroids; it will crash into the smaller one to try to change how this space rock orbits its larger companion. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Steve Gribben. Article by Nell Greenfieldboyce. NPR – November 22, 2021. NASA is about to launch an unprecedented mission to knock an asteroid slightly off-course. In the first real-world test of a technique that could someday be used to protect Earth from a threatening space rock, a spacecraft is scheduled to blast off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California […] Click here to view original web page at www.npr.org