1.0 IntroductionFor centuries, humanity has hypothesized the existence of planets outside our solar system (NASA website). These planets, known as exoplanets, orbit a star other than the Sun (Ridpath, 2012). In the 20th century, Edwin Hubble observed “islands” surrounded by stars far beyond our solar system (NASA website). This observation demonstrated that there is the potential for habitable planets other than Earth (NASA website). There are two dates mentioned for the discovery of the first exoplanet. Some say the first exoplanet discovered was in 1992 (Super Wasp Website). Others say it was discovered in 1995 by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz (NASA website). They used the radial velocity method which determined that the planet's mass was about half that of Jupiter, and it was observed orbiting near the star 51 Pegasi (NASA website). . The most recent confirmed exoplanet count to date is 1692 (NASA website). This report will provide information about exoplanets, how they are discovered and studied, and past and future research projects. 2.0 Search for exoplanets 2.1 Habitable zone Scientists believe that the most likely place for life to exist is on a small, "Earth-like" rocky planet within a habitable zone (Super Wasp website). A habitable zone (Fig. 1) is where temperatures are suitable for the presence of liquid water on the surface of a planet (NASA website). The habitability of a star depends on how much starlight it absorbs and reflects, which determines its temperature (Astrobio website).2.2 Super-EarthsA super-Earth is a planet with masses between one and ten times that of Earth ( Phys Org website). They have an incidence of 41% in habitable zones (Phys Org website).2.3 Missions/OrganizationsDue to the difficulties in detecting an exoplanet because...... middle of paper......zone, methane and water (Space Telescope Science Institute website). It will be able to reveal what drives star formation and interactions between dark matter and galaxies (Space Telescope Science Institute website). Furthermore, the angular resolution will be 5-10 times better than that of the James Webb Space Telescope (Space Telescope Science Institute website). 5.0 Conclusions The hunt for exoplanets in the habitable zone will continue until they can answer the question of whether life can exist outside our planet. galaxy. Exoplanets were discovered with the help of missions launched such as Kepler, SETI and TESS. These planets are studied using advanced technologies including spectroscopic analysis and transit spectroscopy. Proposed satellites will be launched in the future that will collect more in-depth information that will bring us closer to the answer.