An “apocalypse asteroid” that could spell doom for our planet has been snapped up close and personal by NASA.

The agency released its best photos yet of Bennu, a space rock three times the diameter of the Melbourne Cricket Ground - taken by its high tech Osiris-Rex spacecraft.

Bennu, an asteroid that sits 72,000 miles (115,870 kilometres) from Earth, is billions of years old, and scientists hope to uncover how life formed on Earth by studying the rock’s chemical makeup.

It has been branded an “apocalypse asteroid”, and NASA says it has a one in 2700 chance of hitting our planet in the next century.

If it collides with Earth, the rock will release 80,000 times more energy than the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast.

Osiris-Rex has orbited Bennu since December, and took its latest images on January 17 when it was only a mile (1.6km) above the space rock’s surface.

The space probe took the close-up using its NavCam 1 navigation camera, which it normally uses to track the path of its orbit.

At around 500 metres across, Bennu is the smallest object ever orbited by a spacecraft.

The space rock’s size means its gravitational pull is not very strong, so Osiris-Rex has to keep a close eye on it to make sure it’s on the right path.

The space probe aims to help scientists understand what makes up the asteroids that whizz past our planet.

Osiris-Rex found signs of water on Bennu just days after it landed on the mysterious space rock.

NASA has previously said that Bennu is a “potentially hazardous” asteroid that could hit our planet in the next 100 years.

But you shouldn’t worry too much – a top NASA official claimed this month that its space boffins would let the world know if an apocalypse was on its way.

That’s because there would be “no way” for the space agency to hide a catastrophic asteroid if it was heading for Earth.