Tuesday morning, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully completed its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. Under the mission, one of its spacecrafts smashed into an asteroid named Dimorphos — a moonlet to a larger asteroid called Didymos. The objective of the mission was purely of demonstrative nature — aiming to deflect the trajectory of the asteroid, though the asteroid posed no real threat to planet Earth. It is well-known that alongside planets, there are numerous smaller objects that revolve around the sun in the solar system. One category among them is that of asteroids. These asteroids have the potential to penetrate into Earth's atmosphere and hit the ground eventually, with a formidable force. While most of the smaller ones burn out due to friction with the atmospheric particles, larger ones can make it to the Earth's surface. Some 66 million years ago, three-fourth of the Earth's life was wiped out due to the collision of an asteroid having 10 km of diametric width, with Earth. Collision of such huge asteroids, as per the humans' limited understanding, occurs once in hundreds of million years. In 2013, a small asteroid of 18-meter diameter hit Russia, causing significant destruction. Though rare, such collisions remain open possibilities. NASA's asteroid smashing act was not to avert any imminent damage but still it is a beginning that needs to be appreciated. For the first time in history, humans have endeavoured to deflect the trajectory of celestial bodies. There are millions on Earth who believe their life and destinies are shaped by movement of heavenly bodies. Humans may now be wielding enough power to change the course of these moving objects. How successful NASA's attempt to deflect the trajectory of Dimorphos has been, will be clear only after measurements are made over the coming weeks. Scientists are optimistic that the smashed spacecraft, with its formidable speed of 24,000 kph, would deflect the path of Dimorphos. Notably, the diametric size of Dimorphos is merely 160 meters — which is abysmally smaller than the one that led to extinction of dinosaurs some 66 million years ago. Mission DART has been in the making for nearly 10 months, and there is a long way to go in this direction. Palm Melroy, NASA's Deputy Administrator, asserted that "NASA works for the benefit of humanity, so for us it's the ultimate fulfillment of our mission to do something like this — a technology demonstration that, who knows, someday could save our home." If the larger objective is to save humanity in the wake of some existential threat resulting from asteroid collision at some time in future, then only the initial strides are made — that too uncertain. Nevertheless, the development gives a hope that a time would come in future when we, humans, will not just be left on the mercy of celestial motion while an asteroid approaches us! Throughout history, humans have been identifying their limitations, and turning their helplessness into opportunities. NASA's recent feat adds another element of continuity to this long tradition. Conduction of a cost-benefit analysis may be pertinent here to chalk out a guided framework for interacting with asteroids that may pose potential threat in future. The entire cost of NASA's DART mission is merely USD 330 million — which is very much lower than many other space missions. But also, its applicability remains limited, though vital, given the seldom occurrence of collisions between Earth and asteroids. A balanced approach should guide scientists in related projects in the future. Another point of consideration may be the thorough analysis of potential risks of such experiments. Tweaking into a system that governs the functioning of the entire world should be done cautiously.