University of Warwick scientists help in planet search

The University of Warwick is leading the scientific effort in the latest search for habitable planets outside our solar system.

The European Space Agency's Plato project will see a spacecraft sent into orbit to scan the sky for planets that could be home to alien life.

The Plato spacecraft is due to launch in 2024 and will contain 34 telescopes and cameras in total.

Professor Don Pollacco, who is leading the Plato Science Consortium, said it might sound like science fiction, but finding habitable planets was a "real" possibility.