DONALD TRUMP has urged the United States to mine the Moon and possibly Mars for resources.

The US President signed an executive order on Tuesday that brushes aside historic treaties that view space as a "global commons" to be governed by international bodies.

Instead, the vast stores of water and minerals on the Moon, Mars and asteroids are ripe for the taking by Nasa and other international space agencies, according to the directive.

The move paves the way for a new space race in which agencies stake claims to parts of space objects brimming with mineable resources, such as oxygen and metals.

Nasa currently plans to land man on the Moon again in 2024 and has explicitly stated it intends to mine the rocky satellite for resources to supply a permanent Moon base.

"Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space," the order states.

It remarks that the US had never signed a 1979 agreement known as the moon treaty.

This treaty states that anyone mining off-Earth resources must comply with laws governed by the United Nations.