NASA mission to defend Earth from asteroids "a success"- BBC News

The American space agency NASA says its recent mission to deflect the path of an asteroid was successful.

The Dart spacecraft smashed into a 160m-wide space rock known as

Dimorphos, seven million miles from Earth.

Scientists studying the asteroid's orbit say it was successfully deflected onto an altered course.

NASA hopes the technology will eventually be able to protect Earth by detecting threatening asteroids on collision course with Earth and intercepting them.

Huw Edwards presents BBC News at Ten reporting by science editor Rebecca Morelle.