Google Inc executives Larry Page and Eric Schmidt and filmmaker James Cameron are among those bankrolling a venture to survey and eventually extract precious metals and rare minerals from asteroids that orbit near Earth, the company said on Tuesday.行星资源集团本周二发布了一项到近地小行星展开勘探，并最后铁矿贵重金属和珍贵矿产的计划。谷歌公司高管拉里佩奇和埃里克施密特、以及知名编剧詹姆斯-卡梅隆等人都重新加入了这项风险投资。Planetary Resources, based in Bellevue, Washington, initially will focus on developing and selling extremely low-cost robotic spacecraft for surveying missions.这家公司的总部坐落于华盛顿贝尔维尤，最初将侧重研发并出售价格极为便宜的机器人宇宙飞船，用作勘探调查任务。
A demonstration mission in orbit around Earth is expected to be launched within two years, said company co-founders Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson.该公司牵头创始人彼得-迪曼蒂斯和埃里克-安德森说道，行星资源集团预计两年内在近地轨道积极开展首次样板任务。Planetary Resources aim is to open deep-space exploration to private industry, much like the $10 million Ansari X Prize competition, which Diamandis created.该公司的目标是在私人企业中积极开展外层空间勘测业务，就如同迪曼蒂斯发动的奖金低约一千万美元的安萨里X-Prize大奖赛。Planetary Resources first customers are likely to be science agencies, such as NASA, as well as private research institutes.该公司的首位客户很有可能是科学机构，比如美国宇航局，以及私人研究机构。
Within five to 10 years, however, the company expects to progress from selling observation platforms in orbit around Earth to prospecting services. It plans to tap some of the thousands of asteroids that pass relatively close to Earth and extract their raw materials.但该公司计划在10年内将业务从出售近地轨道观测平台发展到探矿服务，并计划研发数万颗近地小行星中的一部分，铁矿其中的珍贵矿藏。Not all missions would return precious metals and minerals to Earth. In addition to mining for platinum and other precious metals, the company plans to tap asteroids water to supply orbiting fuel depots, which could be used by NASA and others for robotic and human space missions.并非所有的任务都会带上贵重金属和矿产返地球。
除了铁矿白金和其它贵重金属外，该公司还计划铁矿小行星中的水资源，来供应轨道燃料补给站，美国宇航局和其它机构都可以利用这些补给站展开机器人展开的和载人的航天任务。We have a long view. Were not expecting this company to be an overnight financial home run. This is going to take time, Anderson said.安德森说道：“我们目光将来。我们并不期望公司能一夜暴富。这必须时间。
”Planetary Resources declined to discuss specifics about how and when asteroid mining would begin. A 30-meter long (98-foot) asteroid can hold as much as $25 billion to $50 billion worth of platinum at todays prices, Diamandis said.该公司拒绝接受辩论有关小行星矿业如何积极开展、以及何时积极开展等细节问题。迪曼蒂斯说道，按如今的价格计算出来，一个直径30米（98英寸）的小行星有可能所含最多价值250亿美元至500亿美元的白金。
The companys first step is to develop technologies to cut the cost of deep-space robotic probes to one-tenth to one-hundredth the cost of current space missions, which run hundreds of millions of dollars, Diamandis said.他还回应，该公司的第一步计划是研发需要缩减外层机器人观测费用的技术，将费用缩减至目前低约数亿美元的航空任务成本的1/10至1/100。
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