Meet the world's first female private space explorer: in first glimpsing Earth from space, Ansari wrote in her blog that, "here it was, this beautiful planet turning graciously about itself, under the warm rays of the sun … so peaceful … so full of life … no signs of war, no signs of borders, no signs of trouble, just pure beauty."

A NOUSHEH ANSARI made history with her recent space flight as a primary crew member on the Soyuz TMA-9 for an eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station, a journey of a lifetime that made her the world's first female private space explorer. As a pioneering space ambassador, Ansari hopes to build widespread awareness of, and enthusiasm for, space exploration and, ultimately, to help promote peace and understanding among nations.

Her experience in space--a dream since childhood--underscored Ansari's commitment to her personal motto, "Imagine, Inspire, Be the Change." "My passion for space," she notes, "is a way of life for me; it has always been there. My motto, how I live my life, was inspired by the quote, 'Be the change you want to see in the world.' It's from [Mahatma] Gandhi. I have it on my mirror; it's the first thing I read every day. A lot of people talk about change, but if you really want to make it happen, you have to start with yourself--and imagination, I believe that's what drives our race forward."

While Ansari's flight--arranged through the Arlington, Va.-based private spaceline Space Adventures--personally was her inaugural one, she is not a newcomer to the nongovernmental, private space flight industry. She entered it in a big way several years ago after her own active imagination profoundly was captured by a meeting with Peter Diamandis, chairman and founder of the X Prize Foundation. At the time, Diamandis was seeking funding for an unprecedented competition designed to bring about a radical breakthrough in the advancement of human spaceflight, with the aim being to open up the space frontier. The vision that Ansari and Diamandis shared forged an immediate connection, and she and her family became title sponsors for what was renamed the Ansari X Prize.

As a result, the Foundation captured global attention when, on Oct. 4, 2004, its $10,000,-000 prize--the largest in history--was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the flight of SpaceShipOne. To claim the award from amongst a field of more than two dozen competitors, aerospace designer Burt Rutan and financier Paul Allen led the first private team to build and launch a reusable spacecraft capable of carrying three people 100 kilometers above the Earth's surface twice within two weeks. Today, six to eight more viable suborbital spaceships are under development around the world.

Ansari remains closely involved with the Foundation as a member of its Vision Circle, and the X Prize is viewed as the leading model to leverage synergistically the elements of public interest, entrepreneurial spirit, and cross-disciplinary innovation to bring about breakthroughs that benefit humankind. Ansari's daily blog from space in September 2006 was hosted on the Foundation's website and, in a note to Diamandis just after takeoff, she summed up her vision with, "Earth is magnificent and peaceful from up here.... If we could all see it this way, I'm sure we would do everything in our power to preserve it."

Ansari and Diamandis share the long-term goal of making space travel safe, affordable, and accessible to everyone through the creation of a viable personal spaceflight industry. Beyond that, they envision a future that is critically dependent on opening up the space frontier and tapping its resources. "Humanity's continued expansion," maintains Diamandis, "will come from beyond Earth's borders." The pair's thoughts on the topic help illuminate the major issues shaping the private race to affordable space flight.

Diamandis explains a fundamental challenge that lies in the origins of the government's space program. "When it began 40 or so years ago, we took the warheads off [intercontinental ballistic missiles] and put capsules there instead. The original booster rockets were built in the 1950s by the military industrial complex, and there was less concern about price and primary concern about accuracy and reliability. Since NASA proceeded with modifying those, today's rockets are extremely expensive. The Space Shuttle costs over $1,000,000,000 per launch, carrying 36 passengers."

"The Soyuz, the capsule that I went up in, costs an estimated $60,000,000 per launch, carrying three individuals," Ansari explains. "Our object ... has always been to bring about an exciting new generation of private spaceships which could bring space flight to the masses. Very soon, we'd like to see an annual flight rate in the hundreds or thousands, versus around ten. Competition will help bring that about."

"Dramatic technological, social, and investment opportunities will foster innovation and break through the barriers keeping such travel so limited because of cost," Diamandis contends. "I liken the situation to the room-size computers of the '40s and '50s that were only used for large bureaucratic issues as compared with the PCs of today. When the dynamic advances in the computer industry were made available to a mass public market, computers became affordable and ubiquitous. The same thing will happen with space launch."