German scientists said Thursday they are planning a satellite especially to hunt space rocks that might slam into the planet Earth and wipe out complete cities or countries, according to dpa. The modest satellite, costing 15 million euros (24 million dollars), would scan space for near earth objects. An NEO is a celestial body which orbits the Sun on a track that crosses Earth's orbit. The German space agency DLR said modelling showed there must be more than 1,000 such objects more than 100 metres wide, but only nine have been discovered so far. It spoke as the centenary approaches of the June 30, 1908 Tunguska Event. The DLR said its interpretation of that event was that a rock 30 to 50 metres wide entered the atmosphere over Siberia and exploded 8 to 12 kilometres above the surface, destroying 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
