Here’s a link to a great story on USA Today about the Many Worlds observatory, proposed by Webster Cash. I’ve covered this story a few times in the past, so I’ll just link you over to it.
The Many Worlds observatory is a proposed mission that would launch a gigantic sun shade into space. This would block out the light from a bright star, allowing a sensitive telescope to see objects around it, like planets. It would be sensitive enough to spot planets smaller than Earth orbiting stars within 35 light-years of Earth.