Nasa is contemplating landing a probe on an asteroid that could be on its way to hit Earth.
It's only a one in a 1,000 chance but if it did the consequences would be huge. Potentially the damage could be much bigger than a nuclear bomb.
The asteroid is a long way off yet, if it does hit us at all it will not be until 2182.
Regardless, scientists at Nasa want to try and collect a few samples in order to help predict where it might land.
At the moment, Nasa is considering the mission along with a few others at a two-day workshop in Washington DC.
If the plan were to go ahead then it would emulate films like Armageddon and Deep Impact which saw attempts to land on asteroids in order to stop them from hitting Earth.
Nasa could attempt to land on an asteroid - Yahoo! News UK
NASA - Home
It's only a one in a 1,000 chance but if it did the consequences would be huge. Potentially the damage could be much bigger than a nuclear bomb.
The asteroid is a long way off yet, if it does hit us at all it will not be until 2182.
Regardless, scientists at Nasa want to try and collect a few samples in order to help predict where it might land.
At the moment, Nasa is considering the mission along with a few others at a two-day workshop in Washington DC.
If the plan were to go ahead then it would emulate films like Armageddon and Deep Impact which saw attempts to land on asteroids in order to stop them from hitting Earth.
Nasa could attempt to land on an asteroid - Yahoo! News UK
NASA - Home