DONALD Trump could be set to take America back to the Moon following his victory in the presidential election.

Observers of the US space programme say that if the President-elect appoints Newt Gingrich to high profile position NASA could see it drafted in to build a permanent base on the moon.

3 President Elect Donald Trump may be set to revive US exploration of the Moon Credit: Getty Images

The move would be seen as a major step towards the goal of finally sending a manned mission to Mars one day.

The Republican former speaker of the house has been a vocal advocate of returning American astronauts to the moon to establish a permanent colony.

He has even stated that the lunar settlement could house around 13,000 people and possibly become an American state, the Washington Post reports.

This revived interest in a new Moon shot would likely take funds away from NASA's Earth Sciences division which researches climate change.

3 It is thought if Trump nominates Newt Gingrich (pictured) to a prominent position American lunar exploration could begin again Credit: AP:Associated Press

Gingrich made returning to the moon one of his policy points during his own run for the Republican leadership in 2012.

Prominent space policy analyst, John Logsdon told the Washington Post: "It is very plausible to speculate that the new administration will insert a mission to the lunar surface, probably international in character, as a step on the way to Mars.

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"Politically, most of the other countries of the world have identified the moon as an interesting destination, and they don’t really have the capabilities to talk about sending people to Mars.

"If we want to assert international leadership, we would take a position in leading a coalition to return to the moon."

It is believed once The Donald takes his seat behind the desk of the Oval Office he is likely to appoint several prominent Republicans in favour of returning to the moon.

Oklahoma Congressman James Bridestine has been mentioned as a possible head of NASA under the Trump administration.

3 There are even suggestions the US could re-examine plans to build a permanent base on the Moon Credit: Alamy

Bridestine has in the past expressed an interests in sending Americans back to the Moon.

Another Republican under consideration is Scot Pace who was associate administrator of the space agency under George W. Bush.

Bush's programme, Constellation, had planned a Lunar landing by 2020 but was scrapped by his successor Barack Obama.

During the Obama years leaps and bounds have been made in the private space exploration industry.

Space X set up by Elon Musk has stated it intends to colonise Mars, while Blue Origin, backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is looking to catapult space travellers beyond the stratosphere.

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