The report by the commission, appointed by Bush, is due to be released on Wednesday.

The experts said NASA should seek private-sector support and modify its organizational structure, business culture and management -- which are "all largely inherited from the Apollo era" -- in order to become a "leaner, more focused agency" that can succeed in its space-exploration goals.

Bush, who is running for a second term in the November 2 presidential election, announced in January his desire to send people back to the moon as early as 2015, followed by manned missions to Mars and other planets in the solar system.

"The commission believes that commercialization of space should become the primary focus of the vision, and that the creation of a space-based industry will be one of the principal benefits of this journey," the experts said in the report.

"Today, an independent space industry does not really exist. Instead, we have various government-funded space programs and their vendors.

"Over the next several decades -- if the exploration vision is implemented to encourage this -- an entirely new set of businesses can emerge that will seek profit in space," the report added.

SPACE.WIRE