The closest, a small asteroid known as 2016 HO3 , has been circling Earth for almost a century, and is described by NASA as "Earth's constant companion". "2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far away as we both go around the Sun," NASA researcher Paul Chodas explained in 2016 . According to Benford, the close proximity of these space rocks to Earth makes them the ideal place for aliens to set up probes to spy on us. (Image: Shutterstock/Danielle Futselaar)Perhaps unsurprisingly, not all space scientists agree with Benford's assessment of the space rocks. As it happens, China is planning to send a spacecraft to asteroid 2016 HO3 in 2022, to collect rock samples, so that should provide a good opportunity to check for "lurkers".

Source: Daily Mirror October 01, 2019 15:20 UTC