Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Aldrin urged US presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to "retain the vision for space exploration" and said he would lobby both to ensure they increased funding for NASA.

"If we turn our backs on the vision again, we're going to have to live in a secondary position in human space flight for the rest of the century," Aldrin was quoted as saying by the weekly.

"All the Chinese have to do is fly around the Moon and back, and they'll appear to have won the return to the Moon with humans. They could put one person on the surface of the Moon for one day and he'd be a national hero."

Aldrin warned, as well, that Russia could adapt and enlarge its Soyuz system to better accommodate space tourists, taking the lead there.

"Globalisation means many other countries are asserting themselves and trying to take over leadership," he said. "Please don't ask Americans to let others assume the leadership of human exploration."

He said he was trying to "assemble the best advice to two new candidates who are approaching election" and added that he wanted to get "in there and talk to them because it's (space exploration) so important."

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