American space agency NASA will have its Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft crash into asteroid Didymos’ moonlet Dimorphos in an attempt to alter its trajectory. The mission is meant to test whether or not using this technique can alter the trajectory of a asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth. 

Dimorphos is currently 11 million kilometres away and is not en route to Earth, the space agency said to assuage fears. 

In the past however, Earth has been hit with asteroids, often to devastating effect. Most of them hit the planet millions of years ago, but their impact has often changed the geology of Earth. 

Also Read | NASA’s DART mission: The last time an asteroid hit earth

Here are five of the largest meteor strikes in history.

The Vredefort crater

This is the oldest crater on Earth, but also the largest. It is located in South Africa and is also known as the Vredefort Dome. When it first landed, scientists estimate it was originally more than 300 kilometers across. The asteroid hit Earth 2.02 billion years ago and was larger than the Table Mountain in South Africa.

The Sudbury crater

Based in Ontario, Canada the Sudbury Crater is the closest to the Vredefort crater both in size and age. It landed on Earth 1.85 billion years ago and when it first landed, was thought to span a width of 260 kilometers. 

The Chicxulub crater

This crater is widely thought to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. However, scientists say that it might have been even bigger than the Sudbury crater when it first landed. It was originally 240 kilometers in diameter and was said to have landed 65 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. 

The Popigai crater

Found in Siberia, the asteroid landed roughly 35 million years ago and is 100 kilometers wide and according to the Russian government, holds a vast repository of raw diamonds. 

Also Read | NASA’s DART mission: What are the chances of an asteroid striking Earth

The Manicouagan crater

Another crater found in Canada, the Manicouagan crater in Quebec is one of the best preserved craters in the world. It is roughly the same size as the Popigai crater. It is 100 kilometers wide and is 214 million years old.