Cape Canaveral: NASA is going to conduct a new experiment to save the Earth from asteroids. One of the most common solar system stories that have been heard for years is that of asteroids aiming to destroy Earth.

How would it be if we could divert the asteroid coming towards the earth? NASA is going to do an experiment like that.

In its first attempt to save the world, NASA is going to destroy a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.

A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock — demonstrating that if a killer asteroid ever heads our way, we'd stand a fighting chance of diverting it.

The experiment will be monitored by cameras and telescopes. But it will take weeks or months to know if its orbit has actually changed.

The $325 million planetary defence test began last fall with the launch of Dart.

It can never be asserted that asteroids will not be a threat to Earth, it is something that could happen now or in the future. NASA says this test is just a precaution.

In the next few years, NASA also plans to launch a census telescope to identify hard-to-find asteroids that pose risks. An asteroid mission is grounded while an independent review board weighs its future. NASA's Psyche spacecraft was supposed to launch to the metal-rich asteroid between Mars and Jupiter this year, but the team couldn't test the flight software in time.

Dart's mission is to get an asteroid that threatens Earth out of our way.