A key US Senate panel approved a 2011 budget proposal for US space agency Nasa that would extend the space shuttle programme in a compromise from the Obama Administration's demands.

Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously approved the legislation, after months of debate and criticism over President Barack Obama's plans to give up plans to return US astronauts to the moon.

The powerful Senate Budget Committee must still approve the Bill before sending it to the full chamber for a vote. Although the plan maintains the White House's $19 billion request for Nasa funding for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, it adds another shuttle mission to Mars, an asteroid or the International Space Station.

The US space shuttles are set to be being retired later this year or early next year - only two flights remain - after Mr Obama opted not to fund a successor programme, opting instead to encourage private spacecraft development.