Massive asteroid not a threat to earth: NASA

A massive asteroid discovered by Russian researchers is not a threat to the Earth, NASA has confirmed.

According to media reports, a Russian researcher discovered a 400-metre space rock named Asteroid 2014 UR116 coming towards the Earth.

"Some press reports have suggested that an asteroid designated 2014 UR116, found on Oct 27, 2014, at the MASTER-II observatory in Kislovodsk, Russia, represents an impact threat to the Earth," officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said in a statement.

"It, however, does not represent a threat because its orbital path does not pass sufficiently close to the Earth's orbit," the NASA statement added.

The calculations from NASA found that the asteroid 2014 UR116 does not pose a danger to the Earth for at least next 150 years, Space.com reported.

NASA is also planning to launch a robotic mission to redirect an asteroid into orbit around the Moon so that astronauts can explore it.