A SUSSEX man could be Britain's first man on the moon. 

Astronaut Tim Peake said his name is "still in the frame" for a NASA mission to space which is expected to take place in the coming years.

Peake, from Chichester in West Sussex, said the first upcoming missions would only use American astronauts. 

The Argus:

But, future journeys may see British citizens take part. 

Speaking to the Headliners podcast Peake, 48, said: "We are very much part of the return to the moon programme. It’s called Artemis.

"The European Space Agency build the service module which is going to take the Orion spacecraft back to the moon.

"We won’t probably have Europeans in the first return to the moon, that’s likely to be two Americans – a male and a female.

"But subsequently, yes. We will have Europeans, at some point, will be part of those missions. 

"So who knows… I mean, my name is still in the frame and I hope to have a second mission. We’ll have to wait and see."

NASA’s Artemis programme plans to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.

The journey would be the first manned visit since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Three years previous, in 1969, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the lunar surface .