If "Titanic" director James Cameron were to dig up a giant gold nugget on an asteroid, would it be his to take back to Earth and sell? U.S. and international law are just a bit unclear on this point, and as a result two members of Congress have introduced legislation — the Asteroids Act — on which the House planned to hold hearings this week.

For a Congress often criticized for not being farsighted enough, this might be thinking too far ahead. Still, the rapid development of the U.S. private space industry, and the potential for unwelcome conflicts with rival nations such as China and Russia, make this legislation more than science fiction.

Nobody is going to start mining asteroids this year, or even this decade. But that hasn't stopped entrepreneurs — including Cameron, who is an investor in and adviser to Planetary Resources, an asteroid prospecting company — from dreaming and seeking funding. Next year Virginia-based Deep Space Industries is planning to launch a fleet of 55-pound satellites to find asteroids worth sampling, followed by craft designed to dig out and bring rocks back to Earth.