clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   

Is there anybody out there?

Artist's drawing of Kepler's search space
What is the chance that alien life exists? Nasa's latest mission - the Kepler Space Telescope due to launch on Friday night to survey the heavens for Earth-like planets - could take us a step closer to an answer. Kathryn Westcott asks four experts whether mankind prefers the idea of being alone and unique or whether we long for cosmic cousins.