Nasa develops new tool for finding Earth-killing asteroids

Nasa has given the green light to finish and launch its Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission by 2026, boosting the chances astronomers have of finding large objects that might hit Earth.

The NEO Surveyor is a six-metre long space telescope that uses infrared imaging to detect and monitor objects close to Earth.

Currently, there are no known NEO impact threats to Earth for the next century, but unknown NEOs can lead to unpredicted impacts - like the meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013.