Hawai'i literally plans to reach for the moon.

In one small step for the state, the Legislature has passed a bill that would revitalize a state space office that hasn't had funding for more than a decade.

The office doesn't have big money — just $500,000 to start with — but it does have big dreams, like helping the United States colonize the moon and Mars.

Does it seem outlandish?

Not to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which in March agreed to investigate opportunities for collaboration with the state.

"The timing for this initiative is perfect. NASA recently rolled out its new vision for space exploration and Hawai'i has many diverse assets, resources, capabilities and advantages that can positively respond to national space priorities," Daniel Rasky, director of the Space Portal at NASA Ames Research Center, told the Legislature.

If Gov. Linda Lingle signs Senate Bill 907 into law, the first priority will be PISCES, the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration, a facility on the Big Island that would include simulated moon outposts on volcanic terrain.

"This 'simulation facility' would serve as a test and training area for systems and technologies to be used on the moon and would be supported by academia, industry and government," according to Michael Duke, a professor at the Center for Space Resources, at the Colorado School of Mines.

Yes, a state thought of as a tropical paradise has deserts well-suited for mimicking lunar terrain.

In fact, in the 1950s and 1960s, Project Apollo astronauts used the state for some training programs.

And NASA still thinks the location has merit.

"The Big Island's diverse volcanic terrain is most suitable for developing an analog lunar base to test and evaluate new technologies to support future robotic/human missions to the moon and Mars," Rasky said.

He also pointed out that the state already has more than 40 NASA principal investigators working at the University of Hawai'i looking into astronomy, planetary geoscience, robotics and other technologies that support space exploration.

Having a space port in Hawai'i isn't a new idea.

Opposition from environmentalists and community activists brought down the state's plan to build a stage-rocket launch facility in Ka'u on the Big Island in the 1990s.

They can be assured that idea is not being resurrected.

When state officials talk about rocket launches today, they're not referring to those upright rockets that blasted off from the ground to take the first astronauts to the moon.

Technology has become more Earth-friendly, said Jim Crisafulli, a research and development coordinator at the Department of Economic Development, Business and Tourism.

"In the past decade or so, all sorts of revolutionary things have been happening in space," he said. "The technologies have become more affordable, smaller and create much less pollution."

The state is looking into getting a license from the Federal Aviation Administration to launch space planes off Honolulu International Airport's reef runway.

These planes have rockets attached, but those wouldn't fire up until the plane is 60 miles into the atmosphere.

"You'd never hear it fire, never see it fire," Crisafulli said.

The suborbital planes could be used to do experiments in zero gravity or launch satellites into Earth's orbit.

Sen. Will Espero originally wrote the bill to provide seed money to get a license for a space port, although that was deleted in the final version.

Nevertheless, he said he plans to try to get the money again next year.

"We do have a very small space industry in Hawai'i, but the potential is very great," he said.

Hawai'i might be able to attract aerospace businesses because its proximity to the equator would save on launch fuel costs, and being surrounded by water allows satellites to be launched in any direction.

Oklahoma-based Rocketplane Kistler has expressed interest in operating a space tourism business out of Hawai'i.

The PISCES plan on the Big Island is also being promoted as a tourist draw.

Mark McGuffie, executive director of the Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board, said in written testimony at the Legislature that his organization was excited by the prospect of the state getting involved in technologies that would allow for permanent human presence on Mars.

In addition to opening up new research, development and educational opportunities, PISCES would create a new science-oriented tourist attraction.

As Espero said, it would also put Hawai'i on a map — one that extends about 238,855 miles into space.

"Someday if we do decide to build a colony on the moon, Hawai'i would be an integral part of that," he said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.