As we stare up into space on a clear, starry night and wonder just what is out there, we first need to answer the most basic question of all: what is an exoplanet?

What might be needed for life to flourish on an exoplanet - and should we start by looking in our own cosmic backyard? A chance to answer the question: is there anybody out there?

How the remarkable deep space telescope helped pioneering astronomers discover new earths tens and hundreds of light years away. And we meet the man who 30 years ago turned scientific theory into scientific fact when he discovered the very first exoplanet.

We’ve been sending out messages for decades - but what if civilisations receiving our transmissions are not quite so friendly? Is it perhaps such a good idea for humanity to be drawing attention to ourselves like this?

In 1961 the American astrophysicist Frank Drake devised a mathematical way to estimate the number of active and communicative extra-terrestrial civilisations in the Milky Way galaxy. So how’s it gone down over the past 60 years?

Is it time to buckle up and head out into the void of space and try to connect with extra-terrestrial lifeforms? Or should accept the frailties of the human race and instead send robots? And are alien robots already coming the other way?