NASA Is Getting Ready, to Smash a Spacecraft, Into an Asteroid .br On September 26, NASA will br intentionally slam a golf cart-sizedbr spacecraft into a tiny asteroid.br At the time of impact, br the bullet-like spacecraft will be br traveling at 14,000 miles per hour.br At the time of impact, br the bullet-like spacecraft will be br traveling at 14,000 miles per hour.br 'Business Insider' reports that br the mission is humanity's first test of our br ability to deflect dangerous asteroids.br Currently, NASA is aware of the location and orbit of about 28,000 local asteroids.br In November 2021, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.br The $308 million spacecraft has since traveled br 6.8 million miles to reach Dimorphos, a small br asteroid that orbits a larger asteroid, Didymos.br DART's mission is to nudge br the space rock into a slightly tighter br orbit around its companion asteroid.br I'm highly confident that we br are going to hit on Monday and that br there will be a complete success, Lindley Johnson, NASA's first planetary br defense officer, via 'Business Insider'.br DART's Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera br for Optical navigation (DRACO) will capture br one image per second to document the impact.br We are excited for what br DRACO will reveal about Didymos br and Dimorphos in the hours and br minutes leading up to impact, Carolyn Ernst, DRACO instrument br scientist at APL, via 'Business Insider'.br NASA will livestream the images captured by br the spacecraft on its website beginning br at 5:30 p.m. ET on September 26.