Advertisement

NASA reveals new technique to redirect asteroids on collision-course with Earth

Space agency NASA has revealed its plan to stop massive asteroids devastating Earth by redirecting them with a "historic" new defence technique.

NASA hopes to stop the threat of asteroids too large to burn up in earth's atmosphere and will test the new system in 2022.

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be directed at asteroid system Didymos and aims to completely shift its orbit, The Sun reported.

Space agency NASA has revealed its plan to stop massive asteroids devastating Earth. Photo: Getty
Space agency NASA has revealed its plan to stop massive asteroids devastating Earth. Photo: Getty

“The kinetic impact technique works by changing the speed of a threatening asteroid by a small fraction of its total velocity," NASA said in a statement.

  • 'That's raw chicken': Customer slams McDonald's for uncooked burger

  • 'That is bitter': Blogger rushed to hospital after accidentally eating poisonous plant live on camera

“But by doing it well before the predicted impact so that this small nudge will add up over time to a big shift of the asteroid’s path away from Earth.”

Didymos is set to be close enough to earth by 2022 and the space agency will launch a small spacecraft toward it in a hope to change its flight path.

NASA hopes to stop the threat of asteroids too large to burn up in earth's atmosphere. Photo: Getty
NASA hopes to stop the threat of asteroids too large to burn up in earth's atmosphere. Photo: Getty

Newsbreak - July 3