The world is holding its breath on Monday evening. NASA on mission to save Earth from destruction

Similar to the most famous film, armageddon, the US space agency NASA will try next Monday to carry out a historic operation in space, to divert an asteroid, by hitting it with a spacecraft.

The asteroid was neither on its way to Earth nor posing a threat to human life, but the collision process is intended to test humanity's ability to prevent cosmic objects from destroying life on Earth, if they collide with our planet.

The DABEL ASTRODE READING ST spacecraft was launched from California in November 2021 and is rapidly approaching its target of 23 thousand kilometres.

The asteroid to be destroyed bears the name Demorphus, orbiting a larger asteroid named Didymus, orbiting the Sun about 7 million miles from Earth at the nearest point.

Both asteroids do not pose a threat to Earth, but NASA believes that this task should be carried out to judge the usefulness of this idea, which could save humans' future destiny.

"It's an exciting moment not only for the agency but also for space history and the history of mankind," NASA planetary defence department official Lindley Johnson told a conference.

If everything goes according to the blueprint, the collision between the spacecraft and the asteroid is expected to occur at 23.14 GMT and can be followed up via NASA's live stream.

NASA hopes that the craft's collision with Demorphus will alter the asteroid's trajectory.