Hunt for signs of alien life on Mars being led by British rock expert

dailystar.co.uk:

A British rock expert who has spent his life searching for oil is spearheading the hunt for ET. Professor John Parnell is one of the world’s leading experts in spotting signs of life in rocks.The geologist learned the art while studying oil and gas exploration at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Now he is using his skills to train boffins deployed to search for aliens in Europe’s Mars rover mission.Those running the project will be tasked with choosing the most likely stones to show signs of life on the planet’s surface.They will have to make the vital selection solely by studying pictures sent back by the rover as it trundles over the planet’s surface 34 million miles away.It will only be possible to analyse a limited number of samples in detail before the rover’s power gives out - making the choice critical in the hunt for extraterrestrial life.John’s rock knowledge has thrust him to the forefront of the search for aliens from his home on the island of Cumbrae off Scotland’s west coast.Using a video link from his kitchen he is directing ET hunters in practice missions across Europe.He said: "The search for life on Mars will be through the eyes of a rover trundling over the surface."What we need to do is develop the skill to look at those images and predict which samples are worth examining in more detail."Which samples might have evidence of either life, or habitats for life.

We only have a certain number of detailed analyses that are possible so one really has to get that right."There’s also a tactical approach to this.