--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The energy requirements for interstellar…" description: "\"The energy requirements for interstellar travel are so great that it is inconceivable to me that any creatures piloting their ships across the vast dep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/isaac-asimov-309_contact_the-energy-requirements-for-interstellar_2396664.jpg" --- # The energy requirements for interstellar travel are so… ![“The energy requirements for interstellar travel are so great that it is inconceivable to me that any creatures piloting their ships across the vast depths of space would do so only in order to play games with us over a period of decades. If they want to make contact, they would make contact; if…” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/isaac-asimov-309_contact_the-energy-requirements-for-interstellar_2396664.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/isaac-asimov-309_contact_the-energy-requirements-for-interstellar_2396664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/isaac-asimov-309_contact_the-energy-requirements-for-interstellar_2396664.jpg) > “The energy requirements for interstellar travel are so great that it is inconceivable to me that any creatures piloting their ships across the vast depths of space would do so only in order to play games with us over a period of decades. If they want to make contact, they would make contact; if not, they would save their energy and go elsewhere.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Interstellar beings would only expend massive energy to contact if they truly wanted to, not for trivial reasons. **In simple terms:** Aliens would only contact if they truly wanted to Themes Consider the energy cost before assuming alien motives. Mood curious speculative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - cosmology - resource allocation - intentionality Key Concepts space energy contact motivation Practical Applications - space exploration - first contact protocols - energy budgeting - SETI research Questions to Reflect On - What would justify such energy expenditure? - How might non‑human motives differ? A Different Perspective Assumes alien rationality mirrors human cost‑benefit analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Interstellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interstellar/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Ufo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ufo/) ## Related quotes > [Statistically it's a certainty there are hugely advanced civilizations, intelligences, life forms out there. 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It's always in the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/there-s-so-much-interest-and-curiosity-about-alien-life-interstellar/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [“Other species have interstellar travel,” Jyn protested. “That didn’t just come from humans. The humans never would have figured it out if not for—”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/other-species-have-interstellar-travel-jyn-protested-that-didn-t-just/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [Space doesn't offer an escape from Earth's problems. And even with nuclear fuel, the transit time to nearby stars exceeds a human lifetime. 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Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Many questions remain in the UFO controversy. Scientists ask how interstellar pilots could survive a trip of hundreds of years while cutting-edge physicists offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/many-questions-remain-in-the-ufo-controversy-scientists-ask-how/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-believe-in-flying-saucers-they-ask-me-don-t-you-believe-in/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“We, of all the beings that we know of, can think. We can eat, write, build, save. We can predict, estimate, and count. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarun-betala/we-of-all-the-beings-that-we-know-of-can-think-we-can-eat-write-build/) [Tarun Betala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarun-betala/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“in an interstellar burst, i'm back to save the universe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radiohead/in-an-interstellar-burst-i-m-back-to-save-the-universe/) [radiohead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radiohead/) > [The factor most ignored in discussing interstellar flight is the kinetic energy that must be invested in the ship to make its tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-factor-most-ignored-in-discussing-interstellar-flight-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Contact quotes > [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [The improved American highway system isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-improved-american-highway-system-isolated-the-american-in-transit/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Close contact between science and the practice of collective farms and State farms creates inexhaustible opportunities for the development of theoretical knowledge, enabling us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/close-contact-between-science-and-the-practice-of-collective-farms/) [Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. 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