We’re wrapping up our theme week on Good Things That Happened in 2021 today! While so far we’ve focused on good things that happened here on Earth, today we’re talking about something that happened up in space. On November 24, NASA launched a space mission called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. This mission is the first-ever experiment for defending Earth from catastrophic asteroids. The goal is for DART to crash into a small asteroid, called Dimorphos, to see if it can change its course. This will effectively show scientists whether this would be a good strategy to defend the planet, should an Earth-threatening asteroid ever be discovered. DART is expected to make impact with Dimorphos between September 26 and October 6 this year. Then, in 2024, the European Space Agency will launch a spacecraft for reconnaissance and assessment. Learn more here.