Bill Nye On Colonizing Mars: ‘Are You Guys High?’

Thousands of people around the world anxiously await the day they can take off in a spaceship to Mars for a life similar to one in a science fiction novel, but for Bill Nye, the reality of the idea is just that–science fiction.

“This whole idea of terraforming Mars, as respectful as I can be, are you guys high?” the “science guy” said in an interview with USA Today. “We can’t even take care of this planet where we live, and we’re perfectly suited for it, let alone another planet.”

And in further disappointing news, Nye also squashed any dreams of living on the red planet.

“People disagree with me on this, and the reason they disagree is because they’re wrong,” he quipped.

The classroom-favorite scientist cited several reasons as to why inhabiting the planet will never happen, including its Antarctica-like temperatures and lack of life-sustaining resources.

“It’s not reasonable because it’s so cold,” Nye stated. “And there is hardly any water. There’s absolutely no food, and the big thing, I just remind these guys, there’s nothing to breathe.”

He also explained that the conditions of having to live in a dome and put on an inevitably smelly spacesuit just to go outside would get old relatively fast.

But while the CEO of The Planetary Society doesn’t believe Mars will become the next home for earthlings, he still supports the exploration of the planet.

“I want to find evidence of life on another world in my lifetime, so Mars is the next logical place to look,” he explained. “People say ‘what are you gonna find there?’ We don’t know, and that’s why we go and explore the unknown horizon.”

Nye said that the reason Mars has been so captivating to us is because of its Earth-like features, including ice caps, seasons, and days and explained the importance of sending astronauts to explore the planet because they can do in five minutes what even the best rovers can only accomplish in a week.

“We would send people there to make discoveries. To explore, that’s the big idea. So when we go to Mars, you don’t know what you’re gonna find, it’ll be new. I guarantee it will be amazing,” he said.

And one of the most amazing discoveries that could be made in Bill Nye’s opinion? Life.

“It would change the course of human history,” he said. “Everybody would feel differently about being a living thing in the cosmos.”