BASINGSTOKE Town is on target to become the first football club in space by backing the Lunar Mission One programme.

The club has reserved a digital memory box, to be buried on the moon during the British-led mission, which is sending an unmanned robotic landing module to the lunar surface in 2024.

Excited with the prospect, Basingstoke Town director, Simon Hood, said: “We’re a forward thinking club and we want to be part of this futuristic mission.

“What better way to demonstrate our ambition than to send our match reports, photos and videos up into space?

“This is also a fantastic opportunity for our fans to record their memories on our digital memory box.

“Who knows when these might be listened to in the future? We may even be in the Premier League by then.”

Lunar Mission One will send an unmanned robotic landing module to the South Pole of the Moon – an area unexplored by previous missions.

The expedition will use pioneering technology to drill down to a depth of at least 20meters, ten times deeper than has ever been drilled before.

The aim is to access lunar rock dating back up to 4.5 billion years to discover the composition of the Moon and in doing so, discover vital information about the evolution of Earth.

Backers hope to raise most of the £500million needed for the project from public donations.

“We’re delighted to be involved, even in a small way, in this incredibly exciting project,” added Simon.

“We’re always looking for new ways to increase our fan base and this is certainly a novel way to achieve that.”