Why is NASA crashing a ₹2,500 crore spacecraft into an asteroid tomorrow?

NASA will intentionally crash its $308 million (₹2,500 crore) DART spacecraft into an asteroid at 24,000 kph speed, at 4:44 am IST on Tuesday. Although the asteroid poses no threat to Earth, the crash will test DART's capability to deflect it. It'll be used if, in the future, a hazardous asteroid on a collision course with Earth was ever found.