Small teams driven by their passion with a clear focus can do extraordinary things. Things that only large corporations and governments could do in the past.

The idea of a young thin woman who weighs 100 pounds driving herself around in a 4,000 pound SUV is laughable.

I don't think the space station is innovative. Going to the moon was innovative because we had no idea how to do it.

If you can make a big impact on the global literacy problem, you can uplift a big portion of society.

In 1980, during my sophomore year at MIT, I realized that the school didn't have a student space organization. I made posters for a group I called Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and put them up all over campus. Thirty-five people showed up. It was the first thing I ever organized, and it took off!

Without risks, there can't be breakthroughs.

It's sad that the U.S. government doesn't fund risky research anymore.