London - Signs of alien life will be discovered within a decade and there will be proof within a generation, Nasa's chief scientist has forecast.
Advances in knowledge about the universe and the technology needed to study it have been so rapid that chief scientist Dr Ellen Stofan believes mankind is on the verge of locating alien life.
"I think we're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years," she told a panel discussion on the search for water and habitable planets.
"We know where to look. We know how to look. In most cases we have the technology, and we're on a path to implementing it."
She cautions, however, against any hopes of "little green men" or any other type of alien able to communicate. "We are talking about little microbes," she said.
John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut, was also optimistic for discovering life. "I think we're one generation away in our solar system," he said.
The Independent