Aliens probably up there: Sunita

New Delhi, Oct 1 (UNI) Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams believes aliens probably exist.

The astronaut, who spent a record 195 days in space, today said she did not see any aliens, but this should not distract people from thinking that extra-terrestrial life did not exist.

''I did not see any alien.... But don't ever close your mind....

Probably, something is out there,'' she said at an interactive session with school students at the US Information Centre here.

Asked about space settlement in the future, she said setting up labs on other planets, including the Moon, would be a good idea.

She said the space travel and experiments would prepare the astronauts to go to the Moon.

''The Moon travel would be the launching pad for going to Mars.

We should be well prepared for the Mars journey. We should understand all the processes first, and not just go there and not be able to survive,'' she said when asked why the astronauts cannot go to Mars first.

''I hope to see your smiling faces on Moon,'' the 42-year-old astronaut told the students as she wished them success in their exams.

UNI