James Cameron's Next Trick: Mining Asteroids?

After hanging out in the deepest depths of the oceans, how does a Hollywood super-director top himself? By space mining, of course. James Cameron has teamed up with two Google billionaires, several ex-NASA officials, and some other ambitious investors to form Planetary Resources Inc., a space exploration company that seems to have its sights set on mining near-Earth asteroids for materials such as iron and nickel, reports the Wall Street Journal.

So far the people behind Planetary Resources are keeping quiet, but they did issue a press release promising to "overlay two critical sectors—space exploration and natural resources—to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP" and "help ensure humanity's prosperity." The company will provide details on Tuesday. Out of this world sure, but it might not be unrealistic. Earlier this month, a NASA study said it would cost $2.6 billion to capture a 500-ton asteroid and bring it into an orbit around the moon to be explored or mined by 2025. (More space exploration stories.)