Now, all we need are some dilithium crystals.

Considering how long we’ve known that cosmic rays have been bombarding the Earth, scientists have long speculated that cosmic ray impacts with the nuclei of atoms and ions in our upper atmosphere should create small amounts of antimatter. This antimatter, mostly antiprotons, trapped by the magnetic field of our planet and largely in a vacuum, should persist in amounts large enough to be detected.

Sure enough, the PAMELA satellite launched by the ESA, has found the expected, magnetically trapped, pocket of antimatter. Called the South Atlantic Anomaly, it the largest reserve of antimatter near the Earth.

I guess the next tricky bit is to figure out how to cheaply harvest and store this antimatter. Hat tip to IO9 and Technology Review for the story.