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Today’s Big Idea: The New Space Frontier

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James Cameron, Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Peter Diamandis aren’t afraid to fail. 

If these men were afraid, they wouldn’t be attempting the most ambitious private space exploration venture the world has ever seen. A company they have formed called Planetary Resources aims to mine near-Earth asteroids for precious resources that could fetch unimaginable riches and fuel further space explorations.

The risks are enormous, as are the rewards. That is why a daring entrepreneurial mindset is required. As Aerospace Engineer Burt Rutan puts it, what is required is the wherewithal to pursue what half of us might think is impossible, if not outright nuts. 

The same might be said of the seemingly Quixotic quest to find extraterrestrial life. After all, the search for life and precious resources in space are closely related. Where there’s water, there might be life, along with the possibility to extend the boundaries of human exploration. 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Follow Daniel Honan on Twitter @Daniel Honan

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