NASA is planning to plough up to $500,000 dollars into a scheme to develop a hibernation chamber which will put humans to sleep for up to 14 days.

The space agency is funding the creation of a pioneering "cryosleep" system as part of its Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, which explores ambitious and forward-thinking projects.

The idea of putting astronauts into a state of suspended animation is a mainstay of sci-fi, with Ripley slumbering through a long journey in Alien and Lister snoozing his way into deep space in the comedy Red Dwarf .

Now NASA is working with an American firm called Space