NASA's Dart mission explained: Here's why the survival of humanity depends on planetary defence technology

NASA's latest mission is a major leap for mankind. A spacecraft the agency designed rammed into a harmless asteroid 7 million miles away at a whopping speed of 14,000 miles per hour. The craft named Dart slammed into the celestial body and created a crater on the surface of the asteroid, sending debris flying into space. Here's what transpired and why it is important.

NASA's Dart mission's intention was to test if it could change the trajectory of the space body. The test was the first step for the world in the direction of acquiring the capability to deflect any gigantic projectile hurtling toward planet earth. NASA embarked on the mission as the possibility of an asteroid hitting earth and wiping off humanity is very real. Millions of years ago, a massive rock from space hit the earth and destroyed dinosaurs as a species. The collision also led to the decimation of many life forms and made the earth inhabitable for a long time. Had humans been there, it would have decimated their population as well.

To obliviate such a possibility, scientists are also exploring possibilities to establish life on other planets. SpaceX founder Elon Musk says planet Mars could be suitable for such an endevour. 

On Tuesday, Elena Adams said Dart had an impact. 

However, it wasn't clear if Dart had completely changed the direction of the asteroid or not. It might take close to two months to receive the signal. 

It was NASA's first mission to shift the position of an asteroid. 

It cost over 325 million dollars.

Adams, however, said the planetary defense test was a roaring success. 

The officer said, "Earthlings should sleep better". 

The target asteroid was called Dimorphous. It was 525-foot long. It had been orbiting the sun and was no threat to earth. 

Dart was a vending machine-size machine. It reached its target using a new technology developed by US-based John Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. 

Dart found Dimorphos an hour before impact. It had several boulders and rubble on the surface. 

They, however, lost touch with the spacecraft. 

However, NASA said it was the ideal outcome as it suggested impact.

Dart weighed 570 kg. The asteroid weighed 5 billion kilograms. There was no chance of it shattering the asteroid. However, it has a chance of doing enough to shrink its orbit, which may be enough to deflect a celestial body off its earth-bound trajectory.

This opened scientists to finding more reliable solutions to any impending asteroid threat. 

A NASA scientist said they are awaiting the data to see how effective it was. 

"The dinosaurs didn't have a space program to help them know what was coming, but we do," NASA's senior climate adviser Katherine Calvin said, referring to the mass extinction 66 million years ago believed to have been caused by a major asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions or both, AP reported. 

NASA has so far identified 25,000 objects bigger than 140 meters near earth. But a lot is left to be explored.