We reported a few weeks ago that NASA had successfully collided with an asteroid with the intention of moving it.
The idea was that (despite Hollywood movie predictions) in the unlikely event that an asteroid would be on a collision path with the Earth, they would be able to deflect, saving all of mankind from destruction.
Their intent was to move the asteroid enough to shorten its orbit by 10 minutes. In actual fact, they shortened it by 32 minutes.
Of course, the actual amount of momentum transferred from the colliding object to the asteroid depends on the material in the asteroid. But NASA is now confident they can deal with a larger one if it headss our way.
And we still have Bruce Wills and Ben Affleck to drill on one if they need to. (Armageddon (1998)).
The DART mission successfully changed the motion of an asteroid
