Scientists say the chances of the asteroid Apophis hitting the earth anytime soon are pretty slim, but Russia's space chief is considering a mission to divert the space rock.
Anatoly Perminov says the space agency will hold a meeting soon and tells Golos Rossii radio that his agency will invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project once it's finalized.
NASA studies have ruled out a collision in 2029 and put the odds of a collision in 2036 at 1-in-250,000. The odds during a third encounter in 2068 are about 1-in-330,000.
Without mentioning the NASA findings, Perminov says he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and could someday hit Earth.
He says the details still need to be worked out, adding that the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.
