Armstrong tells US to return to the Moon

SYDNEY - Neil Armstrong has urged a return to the Moon to train for missions to Mars as the United States contemplates the future of its space program following the end of the shuttle era.

The first man to walk on the Moon is due to address the US Congress on new directions for NASA in the coming weeks.

He has previously criticized US President Barack Obama for being "poorly advised" on space matters and said it was "well known to all that the American space program is in some chaos at the present time, some disarray".