A mission hoping to find Earth-like planets outside our solar system has blasted off from Kazakhstan. The French-made Corot spacecraft will stay in orbit for more than two years. Using a telescope and two cameras, it will seek out planets which have the things needed to keep people alive — like water and the right temperature.

Soaring over 500 miles above the Earth, the satellite will look at about 120,000 stars. In 1995, scientists discovered the first planet orbiting another star. This new mission will enable them to make more progress with their planet-hunting.