So NASA thinks it may have just taken an important step in proving the existence of aliens.
Harnessing the power of their planet-hunting Kepler telescope, the international space agency has discovered 10 new Earth-like rocks floating outside our solar system. And its scientists believe these findings prove "we are probably not alone" in the universe.
Seven of these 10 new "potentially habitable" planets circle stars similar in size to our sun and have all the most basic requirements to support life. It doesn't necessarily mean the these are teaming with aliens but the planets, located in an area of space known as the Goldilocks zone, does significantly up our chances.
"Are we alone?", Nasa scientist Mario Perez propositioned in a news conference this week:
"Maybe Kepler today has told us indirectly, although we need confirmation, that we are probably not alone."
An international consensus of scientists also agrees that it's a massive boost in the hope of life elsewhere. "It implies that Earth-size planets in the habitable zone around sun-like stars are not rare," Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who was not part of the work, told PA in an email.
The 10 new Goldilocks rocks form part of a 219-planet discovery by Kepler, which has been on a mission to survey the galaxy to establish how many habitable planets there are since 2009.
It has found 4,000 planet candidates so far and hopes to come up with a number of habitable planet frequency within the next year.