Spacecraft blasts off to investigate scene of defensive cosmic crash

The asteroid Dimorphos, captured by Nasa’s Dart mission just two seconds before the spacecraft struck its surface, on September 26 2022 (Nasa/Johns Hopkins APL via AP)

A spacecraft blasted off on Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash.

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft rocketed away on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid rammed by Nasa two years ago in a dress rehearsal for the day a space rock threatens Earth.