Exclusive | Nobel Laureate Michel Mayor: Humanity Has No ‘Planet B’

For Nobel Physics Prize laureate Michel Mayor, the belief that humanity can one day escape its problems by relocating to another planet is not merely unrealistic—it is a dangerous illusion.

In an exclusive interview with Storm Media during his visit to Taiwan, the Swiss astrophysicist drew a clear distinction between scientific exploration and mass colonization, warning that fantasies of a large-scale human exodus to Mars risk diverting attention and resources from the far more urgent task of protecting Earth itself.

Asked about Elon Musk's proposal to send one million people to Mars, Mayor was unequivocal. Sending a handful of astronauts on exploratory missions, he said, is fundamentally different from attempting to relocate an entire population. The latter, in his words, is a “romantic and unrealistic dream” that no serious scientist would endorse—and, if it were even conceivable, a “shameful” misuse of global resources. （Related： Exclusive | Nobel Physics Laureate Advises Governments to Think Long Term ｜ Latest ）

Exploration Is Not Immigration

Mayor emphasized that human curiosity about space is natural and historically consistent. From the discovery of the New World to the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, exploration has always been part of human progress. But exploration, he stressed, should not be confused with permanent settlement.

“Sending a few people to Mars for exploration is one thing,” Mayor said. “Immigrating one million people is something entirely different.”

The distinction is not philosophical but scientific. Mars, he explained, lacks the basic conditions required to sustain human life without extreme and permanent technological intervention. Any attempt to portray mass migration as a plausible solution to humanity's challenges ignores these physical constraints.
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Why Mars Fails the Scientific Test

From a scientific standpoint, Mayor said, Mars is fundamentally inhospitable. Its atmospheric pressure is only about 2 percent of Earth's, it contains no breathable oxygen, and its atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide. The planet is also exposed to high levels of cosmic radiation, and its soil contains toxic compounds.

Under such conditions, even short-term human presence would require extensive protective equipment and artificial life-support systems. Long-term settlement on a massive scale, he argued, is beyond the realm of feasibility.

“Perhaps in ten or twenty years, some people might work on Mars for a few months in temporary facilities,” Mayor acknowledged. “But they would still need constant protection. The idea that one million people could live there permanently is simply impossible.”

A Question of Resources and Responsibility

Beyond scientific impracticality, Mayor raised a deeper concern: the moral implications of pursuing planetary migration while Earth faces escalating crises.

The resources required for a mass Mars settlement, he argued, would be enormous—yet those same resources could be directed toward addressing climate change, environmental degradation, and other existential threats on Earth.

Asked why such vast funding is not being redirected toward solving problems at home, Mayor responded with visible frustration. “The problem is that this person doesn't want to do that,” he said, referring to Musk. “But if he wants to migrate to Mars, I would be very happy—let him go.”

For Mayor, the issue is not personal but structural. Even if mass migration were theoretically possible, he said, devoting extraordinary resources to benefit a small group of people while billions remain vulnerable on Earth would be ethically indefensible.

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A Career Built on Scientific Caution

Mayor's skepticism carries particular weight within the scientific community. In 1995, he became the first scientist to discover an exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star—51 Pegasi b—a breakthrough that fundamentally altered humanity's understanding of the universe. The discovery proved that the solar system is not unique and opened the door to the possibility of life beyond Earth. He later shared the 2019 Nobel Physics Prize with his former student Didier Queloz and physicist James Peebles.

The discovery itself reflected Mayor's defining trait: caution. After initial measurements in 1994 suggested the presence of an exoplanet, he waited a full year before publishing his findings, remeasuring the data to avoid the kind of premature announcements that had led other teams to retract earlier claims.

“That level of caution is essential in science,” he said. “If you make a mistake, you mislead everyone.”

Seeing Other Worlds—Without Escaping This One

Since Mayor's breakthrough, astronomers have confirmed more than 6,000 exoplanets. According to NASA, most orbit stars beyond our solar system, and many reside in so-called habitable zones where conditions could allow liquid water to exist.

Mayor believes that millions of Earth-like rocky planets likely exist under the right chemical and thermal conditions. But the existence of such planets does not translate into human mobility.

Even a planet located 30 light-years away—relatively close in cosmic terms—would be roughly a billion times farther than the distance between Earth and the Moon. Without the ability to travel at the speed of light, reaching such a world would take hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. （Related： Exclusive | Nobel Physics Laureate Advises Governments to Think Long Term ｜ Latest ）

“If you want to migrate to exoplanets,” Mayor said flatly, “that's impossible.”

The Search for Life, Not Escape

Despite his rejection of human interstellar migration, Mayor remains deeply optimistic about scientific discovery. One of his greatest hopes is to determine whether life exists beyond Earth—particularly beneath the icy surface of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, which is believed to contain a vast subsurface ocean.

“If life exists there, it would be completely independent from life on Earth,” he said. “Would it follow the same biological system, or a different one? Either answer would change how we understand life in the universe.”

Such life, he added, would most likely be microscopic. But even the discovery of simple organisms would profoundly reshape humanity's understanding of its place in the cosmos.

Science, Misinformation, and a Fragile Future

Mayor also expressed deep concern about the erosion of public trust in science. He identified misinformation and science denial—particularly around climate change—as among the greatest threats facing humanity today.

When political leaders dismiss climate change as a hoax, he said, the consequences are dangerous. “The problem is a lack of scientific culture,” Mayor warned. “People can no longer distinguish between what is true and what is false.”

He remains pessimistic about whether global leaders are truly committed to addressing climate change, predicting that billions of people—especially those in hot regions and coastal cities—will suffer the consequences in the decades ahead.

“We Are Earthlings”

For young people drawn to science, Mayor offered simple advice: pursue research not for fame or profit, but for the privilege of discovery.

“Doing scientific research allows you to learn new things about the universe,” he said. “That is an honor.”

As for humanity's long-term survival, Mayor returned to his central message. Dreams of mass migration to Mars or distant planets, he said, are distractions from reality.

“If Earth becomes uninhabitable one day, humans will be trapped on Earth,” he said. “We are Earthlings. The only solution is to do our utmost to take good care of this planet.”

Original Article in Chinese

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