The colony would enable scientific research that could lead to eventual industrial ventures, processing rocket fuel and other products from oxygen or other materials that might be found beneath the moon's surface, the US space agency said.

While the plan is merely a preliminary step, based on NASA's discussions with space agencies around the world, it sets out a clear strategy for space exploration using the moon as a jumping off point and laboratory, space experts said.

"It is significant primarily because we are saying when we go back to the moon, we are going to go back to one place and build up a facility there," said John Logsdon, director of the space institute at George Washington University.

"It's basically our offshore island, so it makes sense going there first before we go any further," he told AFP.

Although NASA plans to build its own new rockets and crew capsule for the lunar missions, the elaborate moon base would require investment and expertise from other space agencies and the private sector.

"Nobody believes that there's enough money in the US to undertake this alone," Logsdon said.

NASA presented its moon base concept following talks with the European Space Agency and national space organizations in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, South Korea and Ukraine.

US space officials say the International Space Station, which involves some 15 different agencies, demonstrates that global space missions can be successful.

So far, the discussions on the moon base have gone smoothly without major divisions, though there is a long road ahead, Logsdon said.

"Each partner agency has its own interest but the level of willingness to work together is very high," Logsdon said. "NASA has been very effective in leading this."

Long a dream of science fiction writers, a lunar outpost was viewed as a goal within reach during the heady days of the Apollo moon landings dating back to the 1960s. But US space program funding was scaled back after the last mission to the moon in 1972.

To realize the lunar settlement, the United States would have to provide a long-term, costly commitment over the next 15 years -- there is no estimate yet -- and work with foreign partners on an unprecedented scale.

"At this point, it's just a plan on paper. The decisions to provide the money to actually do this are five years in the future," Logsdon said. NASA will end its space shuttle program by 2010, which could free up funds for the return-to-the-moon project.

Some critics have questioned the rationale for manned missions to the moon, arguing in favor of robots that can conduct scientific research at much less cost and without safety risks.

But proponents say manned missions are crucial to learning how humans can settle beyond Earth and will lay the foundation for exploring Mars and the rest of the solar system.

"This is part of a centuries-long process for some proportion of humanity moving off this planet," Logsdon said.

For private companies already involved in space projects, the lunar missions are a potentially promising venture with the chance for contractors to supply new spacecraft, equipment and technologies to NASA and other space agencies.

"We see it as a big opportunity," said Pat Schondel, vice president for space exploration at Boeing, which built the space shuttle.

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