Alan Stern Quotes, born November 22, 1957, in New Orleans, Louisiana, is an American planetary scientist, commercial astronaut, and space program executive, best known as the principal investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission, which explored Pluto in 2015 and the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule in 2019. With a master’s in aerospace engineering and a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Colorado, Stern has led over 25 space missions, authored over 500 technical papers, and flown as a commercial astronaut in 2023. Formerly NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (2007–2008), he has championed commercial spaceflight and Pluto’s planetary status. These 15 quotes—sourced from Chasing New Horizons (2018), interviews, public statements, and posts on X—reflect his insights on space exploration, scientific discovery, and perseverance, capturing his visionary drive and passion for the cosmos.
15 Alan Stern Quotes
- “This is in a real sense the capstone of the initial missions to explore the planets. Pluto, its moons and this part of the solar system are such mysteries that New Horizons will rewrite all of the textbooks.” (Chasing New Horizons, 2018)
- “We’re in the space exploration business, and the outer solar system is a wild, wooly place. We haven’t explored it very well.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “The big lesson of planetary science is when you do a first reconnaissance of a new kind of object, you should expect the unexpected.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Pluto is showing us a diversity of landforms and complexity of processes that rival anything we’ve seen in the solar system.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “There is a phrase from World War I describing warfare as ‘months of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.’ The same applies to long spacecraft missions.” (Chasing New Horizons, 2018)
- “It says something very deep about humans and our society, something very good about us, that we’ve invested our time and treasure in building a machine that can fly across three billion miles of space to explore the Pluto system.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “The people who created this amazing mission of exploration chased their new horizons hard; they never let go of their dream.” (Chasing New Horizons, 2018)
- “I’m hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and I think that’s only going to happen in the commercial sector—if there are large profits to be made.” (Interview, Space.com, 2009)
- “Dwarf people are people. Dwarf planets are planets. End of argument.” (Chasing New Horizons, 2018, quoting Fran Bagenal)
- “I like the planets because they are real places that you can go to and send machines to. Faraway astronomy—galactic astronomy and extra-galactic astronomy—is really cool stuff, but to me, it’s about destinations.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “The steep topography means that the bedrock that makes those mountains must be made of H2O—of water ice, we can be very sure that the water is there in great abundance.” (Interview, Quotes.net, n.d.)
- “No doubt, there was something that drew people to this particular launch—a sense of something epochal, a passing of the torch from Voyager to a new generation of explorers.” (Chasing New Horizons, 2018)
- “Pluto has strong atmospheric cycles. It snows on the surface, Pluto has turned out to be an extraordinarily complex, interesting world.” (Interview, Quotes.net, n.d.)
- “I don’t know what to call this thing except a planet.” (Interview, Quotes.net, n.d.)
- “We are puzzled by almost everything.” (Interview, Reuters, 2016, via Quotes.net)
Alan Stern’s quotes are a thrilling blend of scientific curiosity, bold exploration, and fierce advocacy, inspiring scientists and dreamers to push the boundaries of human knowledge. Which quote ignites your cosmic passion? Drop it in the comments and keep Stern’s exploratory legacy soaring!
Emma Thompson
Hi, I'm Emma Thompson, founder of MyLittleDesire. I share relationship advice, love quotes, and thoughtful gift ideas to help you express your feelings and strengthen your bonds. Let's celebrate love together!
Email – business@mylittledesire.com
