>>16730762
First contact would likely be through radio signals or something similar. It would take decades, maybe centuries, for actual physical contact, and even then, it both sides would be really careful. The reason: intelligent life outside of earth is likely a few light decades away from Earth, so sending anything to us and vice-versa would be extremely costly and time consuming. You don't want to fuck up that. Moreover, most lifeforms likely can't survive the voyage, so there's no reason to.
