The European Space Agency wants to know once and for all if we really are the only ones in the universe.
As part of an ambitious three-year space mission, the ESA will collect data on planets that have qualities similar to Earth and are located near stars the same distance the Earth is from the Sun, the website Psys.org reported Wednesday.
The ESA will be ready to embark on the mission, named PLATO, in 2024. Scientists hope to discover the first Earth-like planet near a Sun-like star in a habitable area outside our solar system.
"This is fantastic news for Europe," said Don Pollacco, from the University of Warwick, Phys.org reported.
ESA will use a new type of telescope, also called PLATO. The telescope, made up of 34 telescopes in one, will allow the observation of planets without any interruption from the Sun, or distortion from Earth's atmosphere, Phys.org reported. Scientists will also be able to find planets that are smaller than Earth.
"PLATO will allow the first systematic survey of nearby planets for indications from advanced life forms (as well as slime). A few years ago, this would have been science fiction and now it's coming to pass as science fact," Pallacco said, according to Phys.org.
The new mission brings scientists into the next frontier of the study of extrasolar planets, or planets that surround stars outside our solar system- also known as exoplanets. ESA will collect data including the age, size and mass of discovered planet systems. The data will allow ESA to compare the new systems with our solar system, according to Phys.org.
"PLATO will begin a completely new chapter in the exploration of extrasolar Planets," said Heike Rauer, from the German Aerospace Center, Phys.org reported. "We will find planets that orbit their star in the life-sustaining 'habitable' zone: planets where liquid water is expected, and where life as we know it can be maintained," Rauer said.
