The field of exoplanetary science has developed at a rapid pace since the early pioneering work some thirty years ago. For the first time we stand at a point where the age-old question "Are we alone?" can be addressed scientifically for objects beyond the Solar System. I will first present a brief overview of key knowledge on rocky planets which lie in and close to the habitable zone.
I will then discuss some modeling studies investigating their potential habitability and
atmospheric composition. Finally, I will discuss theoretical atmospheric spectra and the
detectability of key species with forthcoming missions such as the James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) and the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) including some recent highlight results from our department (DLR-PF).