Nasa’s fridge-size craft takes on an asteroid

Nasa announced it will send a fridge-sized spacecraft to knock an asteroid off course in an experiment set to happen in 2022.

It is part of a project ultimately aimed at defending the Earth against potentially catastrophic strikes.

The spacecraft, travelling at 3.7 miles per second, will collide with a small, non-threatening asteroid called Didymos B in an attempt to “nudge” it out of its orbit.

Nasa said it would be a “critical step in demonstrating we can protect our planet from a future asteroid impact”.