The observation and understanding of extra-solar planetary systems has become a topic that poses challenges to many fields of human knowledge. A few years after the first observational evidence of planets outside the Solar System, this field of research has experienced spectacular developments. One of the characteristics of the field is that it draws together researchers from a variety of fields such as astrophysics, geophysics and biochemistry and opens up new areas for their interactions. This work sets out a synthesis of the advances and points of view of this adventure.