Make me president and I'll put a base on the moon, says Newt

White House hopeful Newt Gingrich today promised a permanent US base on the moon by 2020 if he beats Barack Obama to become president.

The former House Speaker, front-runner to win the Republican ticket after his surprise win in South Carolina, also wants America to be the first to Mars.

On the campaign trail in Florida, where the next primary will be held on Tuesday, he said: "We want Americans to think boldly about the future. By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American. We will have commercial near-earth activities that include science, tourism and manufacturing, because it is in our interest to acquire so much experience in space.

"We clearly have a capacity that the Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to matching."

Nasa recently suffered a brutal round of spending cuts and the plan will be strongly supported by the science community, which fought in vain to stop Mr Obama wielding the axe.

Mr Gingrich, 68, said the project would pay for itself - he would offer part of Nasa's budget as a prize to tempt commercial innovation and investment.

"I'm prepared to invest the prestige of the presidency in communicating and building a nationwide movement in favour of space," he said. "If we do it right, it'll be wild and it will be just the most fun you've ever seen."

The announcement took many by surprise as space has not been on the agenda in an increasingly nasty Republican election.

Mr Gingrich's 12-point victory at the weekend stunned Mitt Romney and his team and left them playing catch-up. Mr Romney moved quickly to promote space exploration. He said: "What we have right now is a president who does not have a vision or a mission for Nasa. I believe our space programme is important not only for science, but also for commercial development and for military development."

Meanwhile, Mr Obama sought to promote his message of income equality outlined in his State of the Union speech. In Iowa, the President highlighted his plans to increase taxes for people earning more than $1 million a year. But he denied he was attacking America's wealthiest people unfairly: "That's not class warfare. That's common sense. Our economy is getting stronger and we've come too far to turn back now."