The discovery of an asteroid blazing its way through outer space has scientists speculating that  the "hunk of space rock" has a possibility of colliding with the planet Mars come the end of January 2008.

The asteroid, dubbed 2007 WD5, was discovered late last November. It's zipping through space at the speed of 8 miles a second and has been compared to the asteroid that hit central Siberia in 1908.

That particular asteroid hit ground zero with power equivalent to a 15-megaton nuclear bomb. If the asteroid hits Mars, scientists gauge the damage it might cause could create a hole in Mars' surface the size of the famed Meteor Crater in Arizona.

But according to NASA astronomer Steve Chesley (from the Near Earth Object Program), the odds of the asteroid actually hitting Mars is 1-75. The scientists expect the odds to change when new observations of the asteroid's orbit are taken. Keep it here for more updates regarding the issue.