Science News Roundup: NASA's Artemis moon launch delayed as storm expected in Florida; NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target

Tropical Storm Ian is expected to hit Florida, home to the Kennedy Space Center, next week, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target Ten months after launch, NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

NASA's Artemis moon launch delayed as storm expected in Florida

NASA said on Saturday that it was scrapping Tuesday's plans to launch Artemis, the U.S. return to the moon after five decades, noting concerns about a tropical storm headed to Florida. Tropical Storm Ian is expected to hit Florida, home to the Kennedy Space Center, next week, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target

Ten months after launch, NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth. The cube-shaped "impactor" vehicle, roughly the size of a vending machine with two rectangular solar arrays, was on course to fly into the asteroid Dimorphos, about as large as a football stadium, and self-destruct around 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) some 6.8 million miles (11 million km) from Earth.

(With inputs from agencies.)