NASA has announced plans to put humans back on the Moon within the next decade - and this time they will stay and set up a colony.

The US space agency said it will begin with a series of small commercial delivery missions to the Moon as early as this year.

"We will use new landers, robots and eventually humans by 2028 to conduct science across the entire lunar surface, " said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

NASA will use innovative new technologies and systems to explore more locations across the lunar surface than ever before, he said.

Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission (
Image:
NASA)

"We will use what we learn as we move forward to the Moon to take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars."

NASA is already planning the first round-trip mission to the Red Planet, known as Mars Sample Return, which will collect rock and dust samples and then return them to Earth.

The announcement comes after US President Donald Trump announced that NASA's budget for the fiscal year 2020 would be $21 billion - one of the strongest on record.

"This budget represents a nearly 6% increase over last year's request and comes at a time of constrained resources across the federal government," said Bridenstine.

"It also is a huge vote of confidence for all of the agency's hard work and dedication."

NASA plans to set up a colony on the Moon (
Image:
ESA)

As well as sending humans to the Moon and Mars, NASA will also spend the money on a mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, and the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

It will also invest in aeronautics technology research, to make air travel safer, greener and more efficient, and continue developing the next generation of supersonic flight.

"As we approach the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 this July, we are moving forward to the Moon and on to Mars, and we want the world to come with us," said Bridenstine.

"NASA is everywhere, and we are impacting people’s lives across the globe. As we celebrate the past, let's inspire our friends and family for the future that we are building."

Space X's Crew Dragon capsule just completed its first unmanned mission to the International Space Station

The news comes just days after US aerospace company SpaceX completed its first unmanned test of a new space capsule called Crew Dragon.

The aim of the mission was to demonstrate SpaceX's ability to transport astronauts  between Earth and the International Space Station, replacing NASA's space shuttle fleet, which was retired in 2011.

NASA currently depends on Russian Soyuz rockets and spacecraft to get its astronauts to and from the ISS, at a cost of about $80 million (£60 million) per seat.

"We will continue ushering in a new era of human spaceflight as we launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil," said Bridenstine.