Space mission to intercept asteroid to be streamed from a smart telescope tonight

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DART embarked on its mission in November 2021 and 10 months later it has reached the asteroid known as Dimorphos

DART mission
(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)

In November 2021, NASA embarked on a first-of-its-kind space mission to find out if it's possible to protect Earth from an asteroid impact. Known as DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) the mission sent a spacecraft into deep space with the intention of impacting an asteroid. 

Just over 10 months later and the spacecraft has finally made it to a 160m-wide asteroid named Dimorphos. Tonight at 7.14pm EDT on September 26 (00.14am BST on September 27 in the UK), DART will impact the asteroid - an event that will be visible from Reunion Island on the East coast of Africa. 

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Hannah Rooke
Hannah Rooke
Freelance contributor

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. Hannah spent three years working at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant, using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With eight years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.

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