"Kepler is a critical component in NASA's broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present," said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The planetary census Kepler takes will be very important for understanding the frequency of Earth-size planets in our galaxy and planning future missions that directly detect and characterize such worlds around nearby stars."

The mission will spend three and a half years surveying more than 100,000 sun-like stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of our Milky Way galaxy. It is expected to find hundreds of planets the size of Earth and larger at various distances from their stars. If Earth-size planets are common in the habitable zone, Kepler could find dozens; if those planets are rare, Kepler might find none.

In the end, the mission will be our first step toward answering a question posed by the ancient Greeks: are there other worlds like ours or are we alone?

Is there anybody out there?- http://royalsociety.org/Is-there-anybody-out-there/

Are we alone? NASA expects answer Soon (8/1/2010)- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2010/01/08/MNTQ1BF6PQ.DTL%26amp;type%3Dscience

CNN: Galaxy May be Full of 'Earths,' Alien life - http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/02/25/galaxy.planets.kepler/index.html

Earth-like Planet Discoveries on the Horizon (8/1/2010)- http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/285279

Earth's Twin Planet Will Be Found By The End Of The Year, leading Astronomer says (26/1/2010)- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1246127/SETI-Royal-Society-Earths-twin-planet-end-year-leading-astronomer-says.html

Search for Extraterrestrial Life is Growing (27/12/2009)- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2009/12/27/MN0R1B7LBC.DTL%26amp;type%3Dscience

CNN: NASA Search For Earth Like Planets & Alien Life- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAob2J66OBA

The Search for Other Worlds HD- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQulCzNjco8

The search for water on Extra-Solar Planets- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fzw5mZdOt4&

The First Five Worlds of Kepler HD- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-lRgBkb2k8

BBC News: Astronomers Hopeful of Detecting Extra-Terrestrial Life- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8478033.stm

NASA Discoveries Spark Hopes Of Alien Life- http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Nasas-Kepler-Mission-Finds-700-New-Potential-Planets/Article/201007415671094?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Page_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15671094_Nasas_Kepler_Mission_Finds_700_New_Potential_Planets_

New Planets with Alien Life? (One Step Closer to Close Encounter)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXL-kledZgQ&

Alien life Under the Looking Glass HD- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaIu-BlClf4

Aliens Are out There (The Detection of Extra-terrestrial Life) RS Conference 25/1/2010- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcNcTdgo50Q

What Would Happen If We Found Alien Life?- http://www.youtube.com/watch?videos=6v1DxKtqz98&v=4m6bhcOmV5E

Man 'Must Prepare to Meet Alien Life Forms' (25/1/2010) - http://news.stv.tv/scotland/152841-man-must-prepare-to-meet-alien-life-forms/