A LEYTONSTONE woman won the chance to send a message to the moon on the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing.

Lydia Stanley, 48, sent the message, “Today, the moon...tomorrow, the universe!” after beating 300 other entrants in the 'Science: so what? So everything' Moonbounce competition.

On July 19, the message was turned into radio signals and sent using a 32-metre telescope.

The competition asked entrants to come up with a statement they would have used in place of Neil Armstrong's famous words if they had been the first to walk on the moon.

The words were reflected off the moon's surface and the echoes were caught a few seconds later using the giant Lovell Telescope.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin also sent a specially recorded message, saying: “I send my greetings to those of you, radio astronomers at Jodrell Bank, who paved the way for not just other electronic signals and robots, but us humans to venture outward and explore a close-in portion of the universe.”

Theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking added a message, saying: “The moon landings were a giant step for mankind's spread into space.”

The messages were part of a sell-out event held at the University of Manchester-owned Jodrell Bank facility in Cheshire.