Our common drive to innovate, explore, and push frontiers

When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin emerged from Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, and took those iconic first steps on the moon, they were cheered on by a nation glued to their television screens. At the tail end of a tumultuous decade marked by the Cold War, domestic political discord, racial tensions, and rapid social change, that moment reminded the world that our humanity and our common dreams were far greater than our divisions. With 240,000 miles separating the astronauts from their home planet, Armstrong and Aldrin made everyone watching feel a little bit closer together.

It was impossible not to be reminded of that moment of wonder last week, as the world watched as SpaceX launched its first-ever crewed mission, marking the first manned space mission to launch from the United States since 2011. Against the backdrop of the staggering challenges we’re facing as a global community, and the racial injustice and political divisions in the United States, I was inspired to join millions across the world for a moment that reminded us again of how small each of us may be, but how big we can be together.

There's a reason why I wanted to be an astronaut when I was growing up (along with many other young children at the time). Space travel is the ultimate expression of our common drive to innovate, explore, and push frontiers. It’s the same spirit that leads us to invent new industries, start companies, and tackle and solve the problems that seem impossible. It’s the spirit that is driving thousands of scientists who are working day and night in laboratories across the world to achieve their own “moonshot” -- discovering a vaccine for COVID-19.

That same drive and determination, along with the incredible technology innovations that we experience every day, can also be applied to push into new frontiers of social change. Alone, we can challenge ourselves to contribute every day to positive change, but together we can combine today’s great minds, advanced technology, and innovative spirit to alter our future.

Tuesday morning, I had the extraordinary opportunity to ring the Nasdaq opening bell alongside NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, and Chris Cassidy from the International Space Station. Among the many amazing engineering feats that culminated in the successful mission, the communications engineering that enabled us to cross from space to earth and to be together (virtually of course) for that moment is almost mind-boggling, and yet in this time of working from home, that distance felt somehow smaller.

When President Ronald Reagan addressed the crew of the first-ever shuttle mission, he said “through you, we feel as giants, once again.” As I opened the trading day with Behnken, Hurley, and Cassidy I found myself standing prouder, and I was reminded that even in our most challenging moments, the human spirit is driven to find a path toward a better future.