ASTEROID WARNING: NASA preparing space weapon which will protect Earth from DOOMSDAY

DART will then hit the smaller asteroid, which is about 160 metres in length, “nine times faster than a bullet, approximately 3.7 miles per second” according to a statement.

Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer at Nasa Headquarters in Washington, said: “DART would be NASA’s first mission to demonstrate what’s known as the kinetic impactor technique – striking the asteroid to shift its orbit – to defend against a potential future asteroid impact.

“This approval step advances the project toward an historic test with a non-threatening small asteroid.”