Previously, the space agency said that a space rock dubbed 2013 TX68 would speed by our planet tomorrow, on Saturday March 5.

But it has now said that the asteroid will buzz past the Earth on March 8 instead.

"We already knew this asteroid, 2013 TX68, would safely fly past Earth in early March, but this additional data allow us to get a better handle on its orbital path," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA`s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies.

"The data indicate that this small asteroid will probably pass much farther away from Earth than previously thought."

Apocalypse not: The asteroid is not expected to smash into the planetApocalypse not: The asteroid is not expected to smash into the planet
The asteroid is hidden by the sun`s glare , which makes it very difficult to track accurately.

Calculations show that 2013 TX68 could shoot past the Earth well within the ring of geostationary communications and GPS satellites stationed 22,300 miles above sea level.

At the other limit of its predicted range it could remain as far out as 40 times the distance to the moon.

US astronomer Sean Marshall, from Cornell University in New York, who studies NEOs such as comets and asteroids, said: "Should this asteroid come closer than the geostationary satellites, it would be a rare occurrence - that only happens about once per decade for large asteroids.

"What we know for sure is that it will not collide with Earth this month, so do not panic."

He added: "It is extremely unlikely that any satellite will get hit. TX68`s trajectory will take it on an arc through a huge region of space, and satellites are very small objects.

"An asteroid hitting a satellite would be like a blindfolded person throwing a pebble and hitting a single small needle in an enormous haystack."

He said the asteroid had "absolutely no chance" of colliding with the International Space Station, which circles the Earth at an altitude of only about 250 miles.

"The closest that TX68 can possibly get to Earth is 24,000 kilometres (15,000 miles)," said Mr Marshall.

Although TX68 is probably going to miss the planet, NASA has said there was "a chance" it could plough into Earth next year when it makes another flyby.

However, we are glad to report that NASA thinks the odds of a collision on September 28, 2017, are "no more than 1-in-250-million".

If it did hit the planet, the asteroid would probably explode in the atmosphere, unleashing as much energy as a powerful nuclear bomb and wiping out anything unlucky enough to be beneath it.

"The possibilities of collision on any of the three future flyby dates are far too small to be of any real concern," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA`s Center for near earth orbit studies .

"I fully expect any future observations to reduce the probability even more."

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