Will Proxima b be the first step in a better understanding of the universe?

Searching for extraterrestrial life has been a major issue for mankind during the centuries.The recent discovery of Proxima b,the closer earth-like planet to earth has made things really interesting.It is located about 4.2 light years from earth in the constellation of Centaurus and scientists consider it to be inside the limits of the habitable zone.

It seems to be at least 1.3 times the mass of Earth but still the possibility of finding extraterrestrial life-forms seem rather small.Nevertheless the fact that it is so close to earth makes it one of the first steps in exploring and understanding more about the universe since an exploring mission could become reality in our century.The findings of the last years regarding earth-like planets seem to give us positive clues that at least the necessary conditions of creation of life aren't as rare as we used to believe.