Since scientists had already found over 90 percent of near-Earth asteroids bigger than 3,000 feet, the team is now focusing on finding ones 450 feet and above. Besides keeping an eye on NEOs, though, the office will also issue warnings in case of potential impacts and help government agencies coordinate with each other. It will be part of the council that's expected to conjure up countermeasures necessary to save our planet in the face of an actual threat, as well.

While the space agency didn't say there's an imminent threat, it's already working on formulating possible countermeasures. The Asteroid Redirect Mission that's slated to launch in 2020 will determine if "using the mass of another object to pull an asteroid slightly from its original orbital path" can be used for planetary defense. There's also a joint NASA-ESA project called Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA). That one will show if crashing another object onto an approaching asteroid can change its course and save us all.