One of the biggest selling books to ever be written about extraterrestrial visits to planet Earth was penned by author Erich von Daniken and titled “Chariots of the Gods.” It was published in January 1969 and became an overnight sensation spawing several more books by Daniken, TV appearances, movies and documentaries.

Now, the SciFi Channel has plans to develop von Daniken’s work into a six-hour miniseries by turning the basic premise of the book about extraterrestrial’s visits to Earth in ancient times to a story about a soldier who is on duty overseas who unearths an artifact. He brings the object back home with him and learns that it may hold the key to one of life’s greatest mysteries – aliens have been experimenting with human DNA for thousands of years.

The job of adapting von Daniken’s serious enquiry into a fictional story for the small screen has been handed over to John Whelpley (Star Trek: TNG & DS9) and has a preliminary future slate set for Wednesday nights.