Nasa to deliberately crash spacecraft into asteroid tonight

It is thought that the impact will be enough to slightly change the orbit of Dimorphos around the larger asteroid Didymos

Nasa's Double Asteroid Redirection Test or Dart which is due to smash into the asteroid, Dimorphos, at over six kilometres per second with the intention of changing its path. Photo: Nasa/PA

Nasa is due to deliberately crash a spacecraft into an asteroid overnight to test if technology can prevent future asteroids from hitting Earth.

Bar a last minute cancellation, Nasa’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is due to smash into the asteroid, Dimorphos, at over six kilometres per second with the intention of changing its path.