STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And today's last word in business is: extraterrestrial gold rush.
A company called Deep Space Industries - which sounds like it's a company from a Mel Brooks movie; anyway, it's planning to start mining asteroids - mining asteroids by the year 2015. The idea is to first send small spacecraft to explore asteroids for minerals like platinum and gold.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
The founders of Google are backing a separate asteroid mining venture. But there are skeptics who point out that NASA's own mission to extract just 2 grams of material from a passing asteroid is expected to cost a billion dollars.
And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
INSKEEP: And I'm Steve Inskeep.
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