The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was recently able to do something that had never been done before. They created the world’s first planetary defense test called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) to move an asteroid in space. NASA decided to test the DART spacecraft on a small asteroid named Dimorphos, which was orbiting a bigger asteroid called Didymos. NASA put the DART spacecraft onto a collision course to deflect the smaller asteroid off of its normal orbital path. On September 26, 2022, after 10 months of flight to reach the target, the mission turned out to be successful. Since then, astronomers have been observing Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos. Before its impact, it took eleven hours and fifty-five minutes to orbit around Didymos. Now, after the impact, it takes eleven hours and twenty-three minutes. The impact shorted the orbit time by an impressive thirty-two minutes. Although the mission was successful, the hope is to protect planet Earth from any threatening asteroids in the future.

Credit-

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-dart-mission-impact-changed-asteroid-s-motion-in-space

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-dart-mission-hits-asteroid-in-first-ever-planetary-defense-test