The United States aims to put a man on Mars [Images] by 2037 and build a space civilisation.

"We have a long-term plan to put a man on Mars by 2037," Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Michael Griffin said addressing the 58th International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening.

He said NASA [Images] looked forward to celebrating the IAC centenary conference on the red planet.

Speaking at an interactive session of space chiefs, Griffin outlined NASA's ambitious plan for the future that involved building a space civilisation.

The US space agency is looking beyond the moon and Mars into the inter-planetary system.

"With manned mission to moon from 2020 onwards and Mars a decade later, we want to build a space civilisation for tomorrow," he said.

Calling for greater private investment in launch vehicles to reduce space transportation costs, he felt space tourism held the key to make low cost access to space possible.

"It is the economics that we should see rather than the benefits of international cooperation," he said virtually ruling out ties with other nations in exploration of outer space.

Griffin dismissed a query on NASA's role in regulating space tourism pointing out that there was no such provision in the US laws.

He said the international space station being built in orbit would provide a "toehold in space" from where humans can travel to the moon and from there to Mars.

The United States has announced plans to return to the moon by 2020 and use the lunar environs as a launchpad for missions to Mars and beyond.

The discussions at various sessions at the IAC indicated towards a renewed interest of scientists in space exploration with a mission to moon top on the agenda of various space agencies.

While NASA plans to send a man on the moon by 2020, India's maiden unmanned mission to the earth's only satellite is likely to be launched early next year.

Japan [Images] launched an unmanned mission to moon 10 days ago and China may follow its footsteps by November end.