When astronauts return to the Moon, they should keep their eyes peeled for extraterrestrial artefacts - pieces of technology from alien civilisations that have wound up on the lunar surface either by chance or design.

So says Ian Crawford, a researcher from University of London's Birkbeck College. He told a SETI specialist meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London last week that although he considers such a find a long-shot, it is definitely worth bearing in mind.

"This is not a primary reason to go back to the Moon - there are very strong scientific reasons for going back. But if we go back to the Moon in the next 20 or 30 years, then amongst those things we might like to keep our eyes open for are alien artefacts," Crawford told New Scientist.

• Previous News Article
  67.04% of all visitors to MySpace...
• Next News Article
  Techies to become CEOs en masse in 2010