In a hypothetical exercise, NASA discovered that a previously undetected asteroid had a 72 per cent chance of colliding with Earth.
These findings were obtained during the sixth yearly Planetary Defence Interagency Tabletop Exercise.
According to NASA , the tabletop exercise was planned by Planetary Defence Coordination Office and FEMA, as well as the US Department of State Office of Space Affairs.
It said that the goal was to assess the country's readiness and reaction capabilities in the event of a dangerous asteroid or comet threat.
While there are no known large asteroid threats shortly, research was done to examine the Earth's capacity to respond successfully in the event of a potentially harmful asteroid.
NASA stated that the hypothetical exercise provided valuable insights into the risks, response options, and collaboration opportunities presented by various scenarios.
However, NASA stated that the first observations were inadequate to accurately establish the asteroid's size, composition, and long-term track.