The venture, Planetary Resources Inc., plans 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," according to a press release issued by the company this week. More details will be forthcoming when the company formally unveils its plans at an event in Seattle on Tuesday.
The three aren't the only ones involved. Planetary Resources was co-founded by former NASA Mars Mission Manager Eric Anderson and Peter Diamandis, the commercial space entrepreneur. Charles Simonyi, a former top executive at Microsoft, and K. Ram Shriram, a Google director, are also backing the company. Ross Perot Jr., son of billionaire H. Ross Perot, is also a backer.
For Cameron, the venture may be a case of life imitating art: His 2010 blockbuster Avatar's plot involved mining resources on alien planets.