Yesterday marked a great step in the history of space exploration, as the 10 year Rosetta mission succeeded in placing a lander on a comet.

So who better to talk about it than one of the men behind the 'giant leap' that put man on the moon?

BBC Newsnight yesterday spoke to Buzz Aldrin, who expressed his belief that our next major goal should be the establishment of a colony on Mars.

"I am really interested in humans permanently occupying the surface of Mars."

He insisted that the US budget for NASA would have to be expanded considerably to make further progress.

"We need more money. maybe double that one percent, and then ramp it up to what we estimate in 2035/40 we would need to be able to land people and prepare for their permanence."

When asked about the possibility of these first colonists returning, Aldrin was skeptical about the costs and logistics involved.