During the night of Tuesday, NASA tested the DART (Double asteroid redirection test) spacecraft, which was launched into space in 2021, reports CNN.
The night's test was to see if a spacecraft like DART can deflect any asteroids or other celestial bodies that are on a collision course with Earth.
Deliberate collision
The maneuver went well.
At high speed, DART intentionally collided with a small asteroid called Dimorphos that orbits the larger, near-Earth asteroid Didymos.
The goal was to nudge Dimorphos so that it enters Didymos' orbit and becomes gravitationally bound to the larger asteroid.
DART is a small spacecraft and the research team likens the collision to a golf cart crashing into one of the Great Pyramids.
First time
According to NASA, this is the world's first attempt to change the motion of a celestial body.
The asteroids have been chosen because they pose no threat to Earth and therefore work well for the test.
The purpose of the test is to see if a spacecraft using mechanical power alone can change an asteroid's trajectory through space.