--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just speaking for myself, I think the…" description: "\"Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to the Moon has a lot to offer for understanding the formation and evolution of terrestrial worl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg" --- # Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to… ![“Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to the Moon has a lot to offer for understanding the formation and evolution of terrestrial worlds; so would the exploration of near-Earth asteroids by people.” quote by Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg) > “Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to the Moon has a lot to offer for understanding the formation and evolution of terrestrial worlds; so would the exploration of near-Earth asteroids by people.” [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exploring the Moon and near‑Earth asteroids provides key data on how rocky planets form and change over time. **In simple terms:** Moon and asteroid missions help us learn about planet formation. Key Takeaway Support and fund human missions to the Moon and asteroids. Themes space exploration planetary science human curiosity Mood inspired optimistic Type educational visionary When to use this quote - NASA mission planning - academic research - public outreach - policy making Key Concepts planetary formation geology resource utilization Questions to Reflect On - What scientific questions could lunar samples answer? - How can asteroid mining benefit Earth? A Different Perspective Missions are costly and face technical risks, limiting immediate returns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asteroids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroids/) [Asteroids People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroids-people-5956764/) [Earth Asteroids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-asteroids-2423743/) [Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Near Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/near-earth-2224569/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Worlds Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worlds-exploration-4953490/) ## Related quotes > [Consider that the overwhelming majority of those 40,000 near-Earth asteroids are small enough to fit on the parking lot at the mall. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-that-the-overwhelming-majority-of-those-40-000-near-earth/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The hazards posed by Near-Earth Asteroids are assessed by Sentry, a computer system developed by the Near-Earth Objects Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-i-koerner/the-hazards-posed-by-near-earth-asteroids-are-assessed-by-sentry-a/) [Brendan I. Koerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-i-koerner/) > [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [There are thousands of asteroids whose orbit in the Solar System crosses that of Earth. And we have a little acronym for them -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/there-are-thousands-of-asteroids-whose-orbit-in-the-solar-system/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“New worlds exploration could be a one way ticket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/new-worlds-exploration-could-be-a-one-way-ticket/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Because Earth is like – it’s our parents’ house, and near-Earth is our first crappy apartment, and somewhere out there is New York City,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-strahan/because-earth-is-like-it-s-our-parents-house-and-near-earth-is-our/) [Jonathan Strahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-strahan/) > [When we build our own colonies, we can do them in near-Earth vicinity, because people are going to want to come back to Earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/when-we-build-our-own-colonies-we-can-do-them-in-near-earth-vicinity/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [In my mind, public space travel will precede efforts toward exploration -- be it returning to the moon, going to Mars, visiting asteroids, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/in-my-mind-public-space-travel-will-precede-efforts-toward/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [We made more than just scientific discoveries... we rediscovered how much people love exploration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-made-more-than-just-scientific-discoveries-we-rediscovered-how/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We've actually named asteroids for other famous women in history, like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. But it's really this Malala one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/we-ve-actually-named-asteroids-for-other-famous-women-in-history-like/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [There is enough material in the Kuiper Belt to build anything out there. We could gobble up all the little asteroids, filtering out all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/there-is-enough-material-in-the-kuiper-belt-to-build-anything-out/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [We could not wipe ourselves out with a nuclear war. I do not want so sound too positive. It would be a catastrophe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/we-could-not-wipe-ourselves-out-with-a-nuclear-war-i-do-not-want-so/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [Most of the solar system resides beyond the orbits of the asteroids. There is more to learn there about general planetary processes than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/most-of-the-solar-system-resides-beyond-the-orbits-of-the-asteroids/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Alan Stern > [Competition-driven innovation and price pressure that commercial practices foster can only make human spaceflight ever more common and U.S. leadership in this domain ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/competition-driven-innovation-and-price-pressure-that-commercial/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Of course Pluto is a planet: It's massive enough to have its shape controlled by gravity rather than material strength, which is the hallmark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/of-course-pluto-is-a-planet-it-s-massive-enough-to-have-its-shape/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper belt region, which I call the third zone because it lies beyond the rocky terrestrial planets and beyond the giant planets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-region-which-i-call-the-third-zone-because-it-lies/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If you put Earth out beyond Neptune, you wouldn't be able to call it a planet because it couldn't clear its zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-you-put-earth-out-beyond-neptune-you-wouldn-t-be-able-to-call-it-a/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Why would you listen to an astronomer about a planet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/why-would-you-listen-to-an-astronomer-about-a-planet/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [When we first sent missions to Jupiter, no one expected to find moons that would have active volcanoes. And I could go down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/when-we-first-sent-missions-to-jupiter-no-one-expected-to-find-moons/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Pluto is still active four and a half billion years into its history. It was expected that small planets like Pluto would cool off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/pluto-is-still-active-four-and-a-half-billion-years-into-its-history/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper Belt is the largest mapped structure in our planetary system, three times as big as all the territory from the sun out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-is-the-largest-mapped-structure-in-our-planetary/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If two billion people wanted to watch a robot fly by Pluto, imagine what it will be like when the first humans step on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-two-billion-people-wanted-to-watch-a-robot-fly-by-pluto-imagine/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [To keep everyone invested in your vision, you have to back up a little bit and really analyze who the different stakeholders are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/to-keep-everyone-invested-in-your-vision-you-have-to-back-up-a-little/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [We're going to find Marses and maybe Earths out in the solar system's attic of the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-re-going-to-find-marses-and-maybe-earths-out-in-the-solar-system-s/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [One of the implications of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its many small planets is that many scientists now think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/one-of-the-implications-of-the-discovery-of-the-kuiper-belt-and-its/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [CASIS has to succeed because for it not to succeed would be a huge setback for the International Space Station program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/casis-has-to-succeed-because-for-it-not-to-succeed-would-be-a-huge/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) [Explore all 102 Alan Stern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## More Asteroids quotes > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [But to carve the Grand Canyon, Earth required millions of years. To excavate Meteor Crater, the universe, using a sixty-thousand-ton asteroid traveling upward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/but-to-carve-the-grand-canyon-earth-required-millions-of-years-to/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [There is enough material in the Kuiper Belt to build anything out there. We could gobble up all the little asteroids, filtering out all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/there-is-enough-material-in-the-kuiper-belt-to-build-anything-out/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [We could not wipe ourselves out with a nuclear war. I do not want so sound too positive. It would be a catastrophe, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/we-could-not-wipe-ourselves-out-with-a-nuclear-war-i-do-not-want-so/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [Most of the solar system resides beyond the orbits of the asteroids. There is more to learn there about general planetary processes than on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/most-of-the-solar-system-resides-beyond-the-orbits-of-the-asteroids/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [We've actually named asteroids for other famous women in history, like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. But it's really this Malala one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/we-ve-actually-named-asteroids-for-other-famous-women-in-history-like/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [Think about the strangeness of today's situation. Thirty, forty years ago, we were still debating about what the future will be: communist, fascist, capitalist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/think-about-the-strangeness-of-today-s-situation-thirty-forty-years/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I only hope that we shall not wait to adopt the program until after our astronomers have reported a new and unsuspected asteroid moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/i-only-hope-that-we-shall-not-wait-to-adopt-the-program-until-after/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [Asteroids are deep-space bodies orbiting the Sun, not the Earth, and traveling to one would mean sending humans into solar orbit for the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/asteroids-are-deep-space-bodies-orbiting-the-sun-not-the-earth-and/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [Back in the day, I've heard, particularly with the near-Earth asteroids, there were some asteroid hunters that knew the names of every one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-nugent/back-in-the-day-i-ve-heard-particularly-with-the-near-earth-asteroids/) [Carrie Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-nugent/) > [We want to build colonies on the Moon, Mars, the Moons of other planets, and even nearby asteroids. We want to make space tourism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goldin/we-want-to-build-colonies-on-the-moon-mars-the-moons-of-other-planets/) [Daniel Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goldin/) > [Consider that the overwhelming majority of those 40,000 near-Earth asteroids are small enough to fit on the parking lot at the mall. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-that-the-overwhelming-majority-of-those-40-000-near-earth/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Mars could very well be a staging location for the resources of the asteroid belt. We have to learn how to get a payback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/mars-could-very-well-be-a-staging-location-for-the-resources-of-the/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [If the Chinese are the first to the asteroids or the first to Mars, good for them, as far as I'm concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-the-chinese-are-the-first-to-the-asteroids-or-the-first-to-mars/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Asteroids have hit the Earth millions of times. We can see them as shooting stars every night. When they get bigger, things get complicated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/asteroids-have-hit-the-earth-millions-of-times-we-can-see-them-as/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) [Browse all 144 Asteroids quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asteroids/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to the Moon has a lot to offer for understanding the formation and evolution of terrestrial worlds; so would the exploration of near-Earth asteroids by people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Stern" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-return-of-people-to-the-moon-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asteroids" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-return-of-people-to-the-moon-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/alan-stern-5283_asteroids_just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-ret_770488.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just speaking for myself, I think the return of people to the Moon has a lot to offer for understanding the…” — Alan Stern", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Stern", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Just speaking for myself, I think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-return-of-people-to-the-moon-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/just-speaking-for-myself-i-think-the-return-of-people-to-the-moon-has/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```