PUPILS need to spend more time in school science laboratories if Britain is to avoid being left behind with technology.

Professor Colin Pillinger, the man behind attempts to land a spacecraft on Mars, is aiming to inspire children to discover the wonders of science.

He was invited to Bolton Technical Innovation Centre (TIC) in Farnworth to give two lectures, one to the public and the second to secondary school children and sixth formers from across Bolton.

Prof Pillinger, an Open University planetary sciences expert, led the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express Mission to land the Beagle 2 craft on Mars two years ago.

And Bolton South-east MP Dr Brian Iddon invited him to talk to pupils as part of his personal mission to increase the number of young people going on take science subjects post-16.

Prof Pillinger said: "Unless young people in this country go on to become scientists, we will be overtaken by the emerging countries of India and China, who are now starting to become a part of the space race.

"We need to be a part of it."

Prof Pillinger said he became interested in science because of the emphasis his school placed on the subject.

His school, Kingswood Grammar School in Bristol, had maintained a pride in its science department since the days of former pupil Bernard Lovell, a distinguished scientist who pioneered radar and radio telescopes.

Prof Pillinger said: "Because of him and what he went on to do, the school encouraged the study of science, especially physics. So I was lucky."

Prof Pillinger was behind the Beagle 2 Project to land a craft on Mars on Christmas Day, 2003.

But scientists lost contact with the landing craft on its descent to Mars.

He has played leading roles in several major space projects.

Prof Pillinger gained his PhD from the University of Swansea, Wales, in the 1960s, and became one of the few Britons to work on the lunar samples brought back by the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission.

Later, at Cambridge and the Open University, he developed techniques for classifying meteorites according to their chemical composition, and has worked on a NASA mission to collect a sample of the "solar wind".

He has also played a part in ESA missions to investigate how meteorites erode in space.

He is also expected to be involved in NASA's plans to send astronauts back to the moon.

Prof Pillinger said: "We are very patriotic and young people here should be encouraged to be a part of space exploration. Science and technology should be encouraged.

"But such subjects need to be hands-on. Today, there is too much emphasis on health and safety and risks are kept to a minimum.

"Risks have to be taken to in science."

He denied that space exploration was a "waste of money" and said the investment does not disappear in space but remains - in the form of scientific knowledge - on Earth.

"The spin-off from our space explorations are massive," he said.

"Beagle 2 might not have had the outcome we had expected but through that project we may have development equipment to aid in the research of tuberculosis, which is a big problem today."

He said space research was also responsible for the development of satellite TV and navigation systems, which aid emergency services.

Prof Pillinger also points to the field of medicine, where work in labs helps to develop drugs and find new ways of diagnosing illness.

Despite decades in his field, Prof Pillinger continues to draw inspiration from his childish fascination with science.

He said: "I still have so many unanswered questions like whether there is life on Mars. There are so many opportunities for young people who go on to study science and technology."

Prof Pillinger praised the Bolton TIC as a unique resource.

Funded by the North-west Development Agency, it is designed to give access to hi-tech equipment usually only found in university or professional laboratories to children aged nine and above.

It is currently leading a space programme in which children will design and try out rockets.

Young people who attended the lecture said they were inspired by the professor's talk and called for more to be held.

Emily Dudley, aged 14, of Turton School, said: "I am already interested in science. To hear about the Beagle 2 Project was fascinating. It was amazing to meet the scientist behind it.

"Talks like this should be given to young people who are not necessarily interested in sciences."

Since hearing the professor, Richard Smith, aged 17, of Canon Slade School, says he is going to become involved in the centre's space programme.

He said: "I hadn't heard of it before but I am going to get some more students from my school to take part.

"I want to become an engineer but hearing the professor talk has made me more aware of the opportunities available when you study science subjects."

Fellow Canon Slade pupil Michael Owen, aged 17, added: "The talk was very interesting and to be able to see a scientist of this standing was a real opportunity."