Source: Independence-X

On Saturday, the Kennedy Space Center is playing host to a launch by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Falcon 9 rocket's highly anticipated voyage is the latest symbol of how commercial space flight is firing up the public's imagination, and taking extraterrestrial exploration to the next level. Not to be outdone by SpaceX, however, are two companies that lack Musk's star power but have become active players in a new space race that many observers speculate will become the next major source of wealth creation. Moon Express and Planetary Resources are two start-ups in the white-hot global space sector that the FAA estimates is a combined $324 billion, and what some argue could become the first trillion-dollar industry. Industry players believe space exploration is due for a quantum leap, with commercial test launches abounding this year. "This is the first post-global enterprise," said Chris Lewicki, president and CEO of Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company. While asteroid mining tends to conjure images of video games from the 1980s, Planetary Resources has its sights zeroed in on a future likely to be pioneered, if not dominated, by private companies. "The first space colonies, tourist destinations, commercial laboratories all will be enabled by the business that we're growing," Lewicki told CNBC recently.

Bringing back moon materials sounds much more complicated than it really is, for gravity is your friend. Naveen Jain co-founder, Moon Express

The Arkyd 100 (A100) small satellite used by Planetary Resources to gather compositional data of asteroids during prospecting missions. Planetary Resources