re: The Link I Hope
Efforts to use space telescopes like NASA's planned Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), slated for a 2009 launch, its Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) project and ESA's six-instrument Darwin flotilla could give astronomers the ability to not only see small Earth-like planets, but examine them for signs of water or life. The TPF and Darwin missions are expected to begin somewhere around 2015.
Combine this with Kepler's slip to LATE 2007.
Seems like each year NASA's adventurous project schedules get 1-2 years later
Remember Mars sample-return once scheduled for 2005-07?