The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft played 'tag' with the surface of the asteroid, snatching a sample of rock in a historic first for NASA.

Some astronomers suspect the potential 'mini-moon' was built on Earth many years ago.

Researchers have detected phosphine, a chemical only produced by microbes and factories, in the clouds over Venus.

The initiative, targeting companies that plan to send robots to mine lunar resources, is part of NASA's goal of setting "norms of behavior" in space and allowing private mining on the moon in ways that could help sustain future astronaut missions.

'It's a new era,' said president Lisa Campbell on Space X, private partnerships and no rules.

NASA says there is only a 0.41 per cent chance that the asteroid will fall to Earth ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

Russian experts say they are reviewing a 'mysterious' video released by Ivan Vagner, a cosmonaut on the International Space Station.

The asteroid passed within 3,000 kilometres of Earth, which is about the distance from Toronto to Vancouver.

Get your wishes ready, because the Perseids offer the best chance to see a shooting star in 2020.

The asteroid won't be officially named until NASA confirms its orbit.