NASA mission finds Kepler-22b, an earth-like planet

To the excitement of sci-fi fans around the world, NASA has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.

The newly confirmed planet, Kepler-22b, is the smallest found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun. Still, it's about two and a half times the radius of Earth. Scientists don't yet know if Kepler-22b has a predominantly rocky, gaseous or liquid composition, but its discovery is a step closer to finding Earth-like planets. 

"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Kepler's results continue to demonstrate the importance of NASA's science missions, which aim to answer some of the biggest questions about our place in the universe." 

So if we're not alone in the universe, and if there is life on this new planet, what would it look like? Will they look a lot like the aliens popularized by the media?  

Photo sourced from ABC Science

Or this?

Lrr and wife from Futurama

Or will they look more like the more bizarre creatures that currently inhabit our planet?

Image of tardigarde, an eight-legged creature that can suspend all biological activity in extreme environments. 

For more on the new planet, check out the video below.