Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

epa09599040 An undated handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows an illustration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft approaching the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids (issued 23 November 2021). DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is scheduled to launch at 10:21 p.m. PST on 23 November 2021 (1:21 a.m. EST on 24 November) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. According to NASA, the goal of the mission is to see if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course, should an Earth-threatening asteroid be discovered in the future. EPA-EFE/NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS APL/STEVE GRIBBEN HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

DART Launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California

epa09600018 A handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ready for launch, with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, spacecraft onboard, at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA, 23 November 2021. DART is the world?s first full-scale planetary defense test, demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection technology. The mission was built and is managed by Johns Hopkins APL for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office. EPA-EFE/Bill Ingalls / HANDOUT MANDATORY CREDIT: (NASA/Bill Ingalls) HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa09599041 An undated handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows an illustration of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft approaching the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroids (issued 23 November 2021). DART is the first mission to test technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. The mission is scheduled to launch at 10:21 p.m. PST on 23 November 2021 (1:21 a.m. EST on 24 November) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. According to NASA, the goal of the mission is to see if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course, should an Earth-threatening asteroid be discovered in the future. EPA-EFE/NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS APL HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES