A Nasa spacecraft has smashed into an asteroid at 23,000kph, in a spectacular first test of deflection technology that could in future change the path of an incoming space rock to prevent a cataclysmic collision with Earth.
As the 600kg Dart projectile closed in on its target, Dimorphos, early on Tuesday UK time, its camera sent back a spectacular series of images — one per second — until individual rocks, boulders and smooth ground became visible on the surface of the peanut-shaped asteroid.
Then came the moment of impact, right on target, and the picture feed died. Scientists and engineers at mission headquarters at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the US erupted in the cheers and applause, hugs and handshakes that traditionally greet a successful space mission.