NASA said it would use the opportunity to test its ability to tackle the asteroid threat.

Asteroid 2012 TC4, approaching Earth at around 30,000 mph (14 km/s), is set to pass at a distance of about 27,000 miles (43,500 kilometers) on October 12.

Initial estimates released by NASA in July indicated that the asteroid, first discovered five years ago, would pass Earth at a much closer distance – around 4,200 miles.

While the flyby poses no threat to Earth, NASA will use it to test “recovery, characterization and reporting of a potentially hazardous object approaching Earth,” the agency said in August.

“This time we are adding in another layer of effort, using this asteroid flyby to test the worldwide asteroid detection and tracking network, assessing our capability to work together in response to finding a potential real asteroid threat.”

NASA estimates put the size of the space rock at 10 to 30 meters in diameter, making it similar to or larger than the Chelyabinsk meteor, which measured about 20 meters in diameter.

The 2013 Chelyabinsk incident in Russia caused damage to hundreds of buildings and blew out thousands of windows. Around 1,200 people sought medical attention after receiving injuries inflicted mainly by flying glass from smashed windows. Over 50 were taken to the hospital, and no deaths were reported.

The space object weighed about 10 tons before entering Earth’s atmosphere, estimates by the Russian Academy of Sciences said at that time. A bright flash from the meteor was seen in the Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, and Sverdlovsk regions, Russia’s Republic of Bashkiria, and in northern Kazakhstan.

The 2.7-mile wide astral body, called Florence, will not approach the planet this close again until 2500.

It is classified as a “potentially hazardous” asteroid by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, although orbital calculations have found there is no risk of the asteroid colliding with the Earth.

“While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will… all of those were estimated to be smaller,” Paul Chodas, manager of Nasa’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies, said in a statement.

“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the Nasa program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.”

The relatively close proximity of Florence provides astronomers with a rare chance to take measurements. Radar scientists will capture high-resolution images that could show its surface features. Little is currently known about Florence’s properties.

During early September, the asteroid is so close to Earth that it is visible even with small telescopes as it passes through the constellations of Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus, according to The Independent.

Until September 8, astronomers will be using the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to reveal more about it.

Radar images discovered that Florence has two small moons. The moons are estimated to be around 100-300 meters in diameter.

It is fairly spherical, has a ridge along its equator and at least one large crater. The radar images confirmed the asteroid rotates once every 2.4 hours.

“If it were spinning any faster, it would fly apart,” Chodas said. “What often happens is, asteroids that are spinning this quickly rearrange into the shape of a top, where they have kind of a bulge at the equator.”

Research also confirmed that the asteroid is only the third triple asteroid (with two orbiting moons) known out of more than 16,400 near-Earth examples discovered so far. Scientists are hoping to use the data collected to calculate the total mass and density of the asteroid.

Florence was discovered in 1981 by astronomer Schelte “Bobby” Bus at Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory and named after Florence Nightingale, the nursing pioneer.

The 2.7-mile wide astral body, called Florence, will not approach the planet this close again until 2500.

It is classified as a “potentially hazardous” asteroid by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, although orbital calculations have found there is no risk of the asteroid colliding with the Earth.

“While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will… all of those were estimated to be smaller,” Paul Chodas, manager of Nasa’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies, said in a statement.

“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the Nasa program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began.”

The relatively close proximity of Florence provides astronomers with a rare chance to take measurements. Radar scientists will capture high-resolution images that could show its surface features. Little is currently known about Florence’s properties.

During early September, the asteroid is so close to Earth that it is visible even with small telescopes as it passes through the constellations of Piscis Austrinus, Capricornus, Aquarius and Delphinus, according to The Independent.

Until September 8, astronomers will be using the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California and the National Science Foundation’s Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to reveal more about it.

Radar images discovered that Florence has two small moons. The moons are estimated to be around 100-300 meters in diameter.

It is fairly spherical, has a ridge along its equator and at least one large crater. The radar images confirmed the asteroid rotates once every 2.4 hours.

“If it were spinning any faster, it would fly apart,” Chodas said. “What often happens is, asteroids that are spinning this quickly rearrange into the shape of a top, where they have kind of a bulge at the equator.”

Research also confirmed that the asteroid is only the third triple asteroid (with two orbiting moons) known out of more than 16,400 near-Earth examples discovered so far. Scientists are hoping to use the data collected to calculate the total mass and density of the asteroid.

Florence was discovered in 1981 by astronomer Schelte “Bobby” Bus at Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory and named after Florence Nightingale, the nursing pioneer.