Detecting life outside our solar system with a large high-contrast-imaging mission (white paper)

This is the final version. Available from ESA via the link in this recordESA Voyage 2050 White PaperThe published article version of this white paper is available in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/128684In this white paper, we recommend the European Space Agency plays a proactive role in developing a global collaborative effort to construct a large high-contrast imaging space telescope, e.g. as currently under study by NASA. Such a mission will be needed to characterize a sizable sample of temperate Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of nearby Sun-like stars and to search for extraterrestrial biological activity. We provide an overview of relevant European expertise, and advocate ESA to start a technology development program towards detecting life outside the Solar system