NASA's slice of the pie includes a plan that would improve detection of near-Earth asteroids, send a solar-powered robot ship (like the NASA concept above) to capture one of the space rocks and tow it back to a stable orbit near Earth, where researchers could study it up close.

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The newfound world, dubbed Kepler-22b, is much bigger than our planet - but, even so, it's also the smallest world yet discovered outside our Solar System, and finding it does bode well for the eventual detection of a true twin, a planet that really is a second Earth.

BBC: Viewpoint: The obsession with a 'twin Earth'

Rare earth elements are also used for military applications, such as advanced optics technologies, radar and radiation detection equipment, and advanced communications systems, according to a 2011 research report by the US Government Accountability Office.

BBC: US to build $120m rare earth research institute