Is there life on distant planets? This question has preoccupied people since ancient times. But it is only now that scientists have the technical means to find out. Researchers such as Lisa Kaltenegger from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg are going on a search in the depths of space. They use telescopes to search for exoplanets - heavenly bodies that orbit around foreign stars outside our solar system and on which conditions may be similar to those on Earth.