Claude Thomas Walker and Dave H asenauer, Optical Research AssociatesOptical Research Associates gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Dr. Wesley Traub and Michael Devirian of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whose expertise and insight were invaluable during research for this article.In recent years, astronomers have discovered more than 350 extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. But typical detection techniques are best suited for finding planets that are very dissimilar to Earth in terms of size and orbital characteristics, and it is unlikely that any of these harbor life. So how do astronomers look for planets that could support life? NASA has proposed the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission specifically to identify and characterize Earthlike planets using spaceborne instrumentation. 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