Leaders of some of the most prominent private-sector space ventures will gather in Iceland later this month to discuss ways to bring science fiction technologies to life at a confab hosted by CCP Games.

Space elevators, asteroid mining, and more will be topics of discussion during the “Make EVE Real” track at CCP Games’ sold-out, annual fan celebration EVE Fanfest being held from April 25-27 in Reykjavik, said the independent game developer.

Iceland-based CCP Games manages the massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) EVE Online and Dust 514, as well as the upcoming World of Darkness.

The game developer is introducing the Make EVE Real track at this year’s fanfest to bring a taste of real-world developments in the realm of space exploration to an audience already immersed in the sci-fi world of EVE Online. Michael Laine, president of the LiftPort Group, will be on hand to discuss the history and evolution of space elevators, while Chris Lewicki, president of asteroid-mining venture Planetary Resources, will offer insights into his company’s mission, and Dr. Richard Obousy, president and co-founder of Icarus Interstellar, will tackle the tantalizing quest for a faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion technology.

Laine’s talk is billed as an examination of the “social, political, technological, and military implications of building ‘the biggest thing, ever,'” —a fixed staircase to space from either the Earth or the Moon which many believe could make space travel, industry, and interplanetary colonization much more efficient.

Asteroid mining, the subject of Lewicki’s presentation, is a science fiction staple which now seems close to becoming a reality. NASA has stated its goal of capturing a near-Earth asteroid and hauling it into lunar orbit for study. Private ventures like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries have also emerged with outlines of plans to send robot fleets to explore asteroid targets with the eventual goal of mining them for water, precious metals, and other valuable materials.

The quest for an FTL drive or some other means of circumventing the universe’s speed limit remains the trickiest proposition of all. Without it, exploration beyond our Solar System is a daunting if not impossible prospect. At this point, there’s no clear path to getting around the fundamental laws of physics which prevent a so-called “warp drive,” but Obousy promises to delve into some “tantalizing possibilities raised by the latest research in theoretical physics.”

CCP Games said it will be streaming activities at the EVE Fanfest for free on its Twitch.TV channel (www.twitch.tv/ccp), including the Make EVE Real sessions. An HD stream of the events will be available for a one-time fee of $19.95 or one PLEX (), an in-game item(Opens in a new window) available in the EVE Online in-game market.

For those unable to attend, CCP will be live streaming EVE Fanfest and all of the “Make EVE Real” sessions in standard definition for free on their Twitch.TV channel (www.twitch.tv/ccp) and in HD for a one-time fee of $19.95 USD or one PLEX (Pilot License Extension) which can be obtained on the EVE Online in-game market).