Britain’s top space scientist says aliens will be found by 2075

Britain’s leading space scientist Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock has said she is “absolutely convinced” there is life beyond Earth and that humanity will detect it within the next 50 years, with a positive identification expected by 2075. The remarks were given in an interview with the Daily Mail ahead of her appearance at the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, Britain’s premier public science program, which will explore the big questions surrounding space research.

Aderin-Pocock, a professor at University College London, framed her view around the vast scales of the universe and the long history of exoplanet discovery. She cited an estimate that there are roughly 200 billion galaxies in the observable cosmos, arguing that given the sheer number of stars and orbiting planets, it would be improbable for life to be unique to Earth. She pointed to the Drake equation as a “numbers game” that supports the likelihood of life elsewhere, though she acknowledged that concrete, verifiable proof remains the central challenge for researchers trying to move from tantalising clues to an indisputable signal.

The comment comes amid a wave of recent discoveries and indicators that scientists are closing in on habitable conditions beyond our solar system. Aderin-Pocock highlighted exoplanet K2-18b, located about 124 light-years from Earth, where observations have revealed atmospheric molecules that could exist only in the presence of life or could persist under life-supporting conditions such as oceans. She described these findings as “tantalising glimpses” of life beyond Earth and noted that JWST-era observations have sharpened the search for biosignatures on planets that sit within their stars’ so-called habitable zones.

While many scientists view the search for life as a gradual, multi-modal effort, Aderin-Pocock stressed that evidence must be robust and reproducible before society can claim a discovery. She said she expects the field to produce a detectable signal in the coming decades, even if it does not yet present as a planet-capable, Earth-like biosphere. “I think that’s where the challenge lies – concrete evidence,” she said. “But to put my money where my mouth is, in terms of getting a positive detection, I would say definitely in the next 50 years.”

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, which this year are titled Is there life beyond Earth?, will be broadcast on BBC Four and iPlayer on December 28, 29 and 30 at 7 p.m. The program has long served as a barometer for public interest in space science, and this year’s lectures will bring together cutting-edge research from exoplanets to Martian geology and the search for microbial life.

The discussion of potential alien life fits into a broader context of ongoing missions and discoveries. NASA’s Perseverance rover mission on Mars has produced a trove of clues about the planet’s past, including mineralogical and chemical signatures that could be attributed to ancient microbial processes. In September, NASA announced findings on Mars that scientists described as among the clearest signs yet of past life-linked chemistry, derived from mudstone formations in a fossil riverbed. While these features do not constitute proof of life, they bolster the case that Mars hosted habitable environments billions of years ago and that samples from such contexts could illuminate how life begins.

Aderin-Pocock said that if life exists elsewhere, it will likely be found not through dramatic alien megastructures but via subtler forms, at first. “Grey sludge is probably the most likely thing we’re going to find,” she said, though she acknowledged that there is a possibility that life could evolve into more sophisticated forms with technology that could exceed human capabilities. In her view, humanity should be prepared for a spectrum of possibilities, from simple microorganisms to complex, communicative organisms, should a signal emerge.

The scientist was clear about the precaution necessary if life is detected. Any extraterrestrial biology, she noted, must be studied in a way that prevents contamination—both of the pristine environment and of Earth’s biosphere. “If there is any form of life, we need to make sure it is totally isolated,” she said, emphasizing that the first priority would be safeguarding both the alien ecosystem and human researchers.

Her remarks also touched on the future of human space exploration. Aderin-Pocock expressed optimism about becoming a space-faring species, noting that humanity will need to extend beyond Earth to survive and thrive. She described the prospect of human settlements on other worlds as exciting and transformative, even if it remains a long-term objective. “Space is the stuff of science fiction, but science fiction does become science fact,” she said, projecting a unifying vision in which Earth’s borders become less relevant when viewed from the vantage point of space.

The Christmas Lectures, scheduled for late December, will frame the discussion with a focus on life beyond Earth and how scientists search for it across the solar system and beyond. The program has historically served as a bridge between cutting-edge research and public understanding, inviting viewers to consider the scientific and philosophical implications of discovering life elsewhere in the universe.

Beyond the current era of discovery, the notes surrounding Aderin-Pocock’s remarks reflect a longer arc in humanity’s search for life in the cosmos. Historic milestones—such as the discovery of pulsars, the famous Wow! signal, the controversial Mars meteorite ALH84001, and the study of exoplanets in the so-called Goldilocks zone—have shaped both scientific practice and public imagination. The existence of planets in favorable, light- and heat-balanced orbits around other stars, such as those in the Trappist-1 system, has expanded the search to a rich catalog of targets where life might arise. In this broader context, the prospect of detecting life elsewhere is no longer a fringe hypothesis but a functioning objective of modern astronomy.

As researchers push the boundaries of what can be measured—from atmospheric chemistry of distant worlds to rovers and sample-return missions on neighboring planets—the dialogue about when and how a discovery will occur continues. Aderin-Pocock’s prediction, grounded in a long-standing tradition of probabilistic reasoning and empirical observation, underscores the momentum of a field that has evolved from speculative inquiry to a methodical, data-driven pursuit. Whether the breakthrough arrives within the next 50 years, or whether the first signs prove more elusive than expected, the ongoing work will keep science and the public’s attention focused on one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone?