Mankind needs to find an alternative habitat in another planet with the Moon serving as the human space technological industrial belt and Planet Mars as alternate human habitat, Kalam said at a recent address to the International Aerospace Conference at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

"We have to evolve and ensure guidelines for creation of environmental friendly industrial belt in the Moon and habitat in Mars," he said.

Favouring a "space vision" and missions to enhance quality of life, he also called for a "paradigm shift" by nations to work together in order to see a quantum jump in the progress in space technology.

Kalam said large societal missions and low cost access to space would pave the way for Moon-Mars combination missions.

"This technological contribution will lead to cost effective launches of large payloads for geo-synchronous and polar orbit missions, paving the way for Moon-Mars combination missions with mass transportation systems," Kalam said.

Underlining the importance of use of space technology to enhance quality of life, he said the world community must explore the possibility of generating electric power through single cycle fusion process using Helium-3 on the Moon.

Kalam said greater efforts should be put to create affordable alternate sources of clean energy on scales large enough to be a perennial substitute for fossil fuels.

"We should explore the possibility of generating electric power through single cycle fusion process using Helium-3 on the moon," Kalam said.

The former president, who led India's successful missile programme, said energy production through fossil fuel generates 30 billion tonnes of CO2 annually and countries should look for cleaner energy.

He said enhanced technological strength has given rise to the creation and expansion of space markets and the time has come to evolve a "World Space Vision 2050" so that mankind benefits most from space applications.

The former President said a unified approach would enable the world to see a quantum jump in the progress in space science and technology for the benefit of all nations.

Emphasising the need for multilateral approaches to ensure security of outer space, Kalam suggested creation of an International Space Force made up of all space-faring nations to protect space assets.

"Multilateral approaches are required to ensure that the use of outer space is in conformity with international law and in the interest of maintaining peace and security.

"Hence, I suggest creation of an International Space Force (ISF) made up of all space-faring nations wishing to participate and contribute to protect world space assets in a manner, which will enable peaceful use of space on a global cooperative basis, he said.

Observing that the present capabilities of space faring nations are not optimally utilised, Kalam said hard cooperation of each nation contributing substantially in technology and resource was needed to bring the benefits of space to humanity.

"If required, two international teams could be formed to come up with alternative proposals and investments to achieve the goal of low cost access to space. Such an accomplishment of a goal would enable taking up mass missions that were not in the realm of individual nations hither to fore," he said.

Kalam said India's socio-economic application oriented space programme has been touching the lives of many among the billion people in several ways in the last four decades.

Today, India with her 14,000 scientific, technological and support staff in multiple space research centres, supported by many academic institutions and 500 industries, has the capability to build any type of satellite launch vehicle to place remote sensing, communication and meteorology satellites in different orbits.