... Didier Queloz Challenges and new generations of planet search facilities (The richness and diversity of planetary systems that have now been detected have modified our perspective on planet formation and our place in the Universe. They also represent an historical opportunity of perspectives and a compelling call to look for signs of life on these new worlds and to reflect on the origin of life in the Solar System. I will introduce the audience to the challenges and recent advances in this field, in the context of the new research centres set up at Cambridge and ETH-Z and how they address the origins of life on Earth and its prevalence in the Universe.)