Lord Rees said he believed that astro-physicists could be able to view images of distant planets outside the solar system as soon as 2025. This could potentially lead to the discovery of some form of life on them.

When asked what changes could be expected in science in the next 40 years, he said understanding more about the "origin of life, the place where it exists, and whether aliens exist, is going to be crucial", the Daily Mail reported.

Scientists could find alien life within 40 years, says royal astronomer