Kinetic Deflection News Today

Anyone want to say no? >> reporter: but instead of using a bomb like bruce willis, nasa is using something called kinetic deflection. thats a scientific way of saying this is on a kamikaze mission to try to push the asteroid off course. >> if its successful, then if we had a real inbound killer asteroid, we could do that and it would miss us. >> reporter: it will take the rocket ten months to reach its target. its so far away that nasa says it will not create a dangerous debris field in lower or...

Administrator bill nelson agrees it sounds like a scene out of the movie "armageddon." but instead of destroying a killer astroid with a bomb like bruce willis, nasas d.a.r.t. mission, short for the double astroid redirection test, is using something called kinetic deflection, that is a scientific way of saying that this d.a.r.t. spacecraft is on a kamikaze mission to try to push it off course. >> if it is successful, then if we had a real inbound killer astroid, we could do that with it and it ...

Hurtling toward earth, how would you be able to change its course and save humanity? overnight the space agency launched a first of its kind mission to figure out just that. well get more from cnns kristen fisher. >> reporter: good morning, paula and christine. it really does sound like the sequel to the movie armageddon. but instead of a killer asteroid being destroyed by a bomb with the help of bruce willis and beben affleck, they are using something called kinetic deflection. thats the scient...

>> three, two, one. and lifted off of the tpfalcon and d.a.r.t. >> instead of carrying satellites, telescopes or people, this spacex rocket is launching a spacecraft to test a technology that some day could save the world. >> it may be the way to save planet earth if theres ever an inbound big asteroid that could really challenge our existence as a planet. >> its what we call a global killer. >> reporter: even nasa administrator bill nelson agrees it were sounds like a scene out of the movie "ar...