Britain launched a task force to assess the risk of asteroids hitting planet Earth.

On the first working day of the new millennium, Prime Minister Tony Blair_s government unveiled a panel of three wise men to examine the threat of collision with what it called Near Earth Objects (NEOs). ``The risk of an asteroid or comet causing substantial damage is extremely remote,'' Science Minister Lord Sainsbury said. ``This is not something that people should lie awake at night worrying about.'' Sainsbury said the panel of two scientists and a former diplomat would assess the nature of the hazards posed by asteroids and the potential levels of risk. It would also consider how the United Kingdom should best contribute to international efforts to deal with NEOs. The government said none of the NEOs already identified posed a threat to the earth in the foreseeable future. But on a wider time scale of millions of years asteroids had caused serious damage to the planet.