For instance, on September 18, 2006, Ansari made history as the first woman and the first Iranian to pay her own way to travel to the International Space Station.
A self-made multimillionaire tech entrepreneur, Ansari paid more than $20 million for a seat on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft (via tourism company Space Adventures Ltd.) for the 10-day mission.
"The only distinction you can make when you're out there is that world is so interconnected," Ansari, 54, tells CNBC Make It. "It's not made up of countries or religions, it's made up of oceans, mountains, forests, deserts and clouds."
Ansari dreamed of becoming an astronaut growing up in Tehran, Iran during the 1970s. She would watch reruns of "Star Trek," read science fiction books and attempt to build her own spacecraft.