Why Humans Need Big Missions: Purpose, Hope, & Collective Mental Health
Throughout my writing for Invested, I explore themes related to mental health, philanthropy, and the social condition. Much of that work focuses on complex challenges such as rising anxiety, system strain, loneliness, and the need for more effective models of support. Against that backdrop, the public response to NASA’s latest mission, Artemis II, was striking. Watching the reaction online, there was a noticeable sense that the mission had touched something deeper than scientific curiosity. For many people, it seemed to momentarily restore a sense of wonder, connection, joy, and belief in shared progress. When Artemis II launched, it did more than send astronauts around the Moon. It offered a timely reminder of the deeply human fact that people need meaningful goals that extend beyond the immediate demands of daily life.
For 10 days, classrooms paused, families tuned in together, and public attention turned toward a shared achievement. Sociologist Émile Durkheim described this type of response as "collective effervescence," a shared emotional experience that can strengthen social bonds, foster belonging, and renew a sense of common purpose. In a period marked by division, uncertainty, and fatigue, those moments carry real value (Throop & Laughlin, 2002). Similar dynamics can also be seen in the public’s enthusiasm for the movie Project Hail Mary, which resonates for the similar reasons of being centred around optimism, problem-solving, and the possibility of cooperation in the face of uncertainty.
The significance of missions like Artemis II, and stories such as Project Hail Mary, extends well beyond scientific advancement or technological progress. They remind us that society remains capable of pursuing ambitious goals through cooperation, discipline, and long-term thinking. At a time when economic pressure, political polarization, and the defunding of research and global development initiatives are contributing to rising mental strain, these visible examples of collective progress can help restore confidence and renew hope in what is possible.
Why Big Missions Matter
Large-scale missions such as Artemis II provide a visible example of what long-term ambition looks like in practice. The program brought together scientists, engineers, medical experts, educators, manufacturers, and public institutions in pursuit of a shared objective. Supporters of the mission note that beyond exploration itself, these efforts drive innovation, inspire future generations, strengthen international cooperation, and generate technologies with broader social applications (UNOOSA, n.d.).
And the psychological benefit of collective effervescence is powerful as well. Public reactions to Artemis II reflected curiosity, pride, wonder, and renewed interest in discovery. In a climate where public discourse is often dominated by crisis and conflict, moments that evoke aspiration and shared achievement can have a stabilizing effect. They remind people that progress remains possible, and that human capability has not reached its limit.
Not everyone will work in aerospace, nor is that the purpose of NASA’s missions. Their broader value lies in showing that difficult, long-horizon goals can still be pursued successfully.
Why Hope Is a Stronger Driver Than Fear
Fear plays an important role in human behaviour. It helps us recognize threats, respond quickly to danger, and prioritize urgent action when circumstances require it. However, fear is less effective as a sustained driver of progress (Dahl & Dahl, 2024).
When individuals or institutions operate in a prolonged state of fear, thinking often becomes narrower and more defensive. Attention shifts toward short-term protection rather than long-term creation. Innovation slows, collaboration becomes more difficult, and people can become exhausted or disengaged (Dahl & Dahl, 2024).
Hope operates through a different mechanism. In psychology, hope is often understood as the combination of agency and pathways, or the belief that improvement is possible and that there are realistic ways to move toward it. This distinction matters because hope is not passive optimism. It is a practical orientation that supports perseverance, problem-solving, and sustained effort (Dahl & Dahl, 2024). In other words, while fear may prompt immediate movement, hope is more likely to sustain meaningful change over time.
This has important implications for many of the defining issues of our era. Mental health systems, youth wellbeing, housing insecurity, social isolation, addiction, and climate resilience cannot be addressed through emergency responses alone. They require long-term commitment, coordinated action, and confidence that progress is achievable.
The Philanthropic Opportunity: Social Moonshots
There is also an important lesson here for philanthropy, which is that social challenges are often communicated through the language of deficits such as rising anxiety, overstretched systems, increasing demand, and worsening outcomes. These realities are important and should be addressed honestly. However, when fear becomes the only narrative, people may disengage because problems begin to feel too large, too entrenched, or beyond meaningful influence (Hanley-Dafoe, 2025).
Hope-based philanthropy does not ignore hardship. It combines realism with possibility and asks a different set of questions. What would a stronger mental health system look like? How might crises be prevented rather than only managed? What would it take to reduce loneliness at scale? How can young people be provided with purpose, belonging, and opportunity? Which promising pilots deserve the investment required to become system-wide solutions? When funders support community-based crisis alternatives, early intervention for youth, peer networks, recovery-oriented care, or innovative models with the potential to scale, they are doing more than financing services, they are helping create credible pathways to better outcomes and reinforcing public belief that systems can improve (Project Management Institute, 2020).
Hope as a Public Asset
Hope is often discussed as a personal emotion, yet it also functions as a public asset. Communities with a shared sense of direction tend to be more resilient. People who believe tomorrow can improve are more likely to participate, volunteer, collaborate, and persist through setbacks. Institutions that offer credible pathways forward are better positioned to rebuild trust and mobilize engagement. Moments of collective effervescence, when people experience shared pride, awe, or purpose together, can strengthen these dynamics by reminding communities that they are connected and capable of progress (Dahl & Dahl, 2014).
Societies therefore need more than warnings. They need meaningful invitations to contribute to something larger than themselves. We need leaders and funders willing to invest not only in reducing harm, but in expanding possibility. We need missions that demonstrate progress is still possible, and we need challenges that call forth curiosity, courage, discipline, generosity, cooperation, and make us exclaim "amaze, amaze, amaze!"
Bibliography
Dahl, A., & Dahl, A. L. (2014). The Ethics of Hope: Values as Positive Drivers for a Sustainable Future. In Global Research Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (pp. 8-11).
Hanley-Dafoe, R. (2025). Why the world needs a big dose of hope right now. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/everyday-resilience/202512/why-the-world-needs-a-big-dose-of-hope-right-now
Project Management Institute (2020). Why Social Impact Matters: Delivering Meaningful Change Through Projects. Pulse of the Profession.
Throop, C. J., & Laughlin, C. D. (2002). Ritual, collective effervescence and the categories: Toward a neo-Durkheimian model of the nature of human consciousness, feeling and understanding. Journal of Ritual Studies, 40-63.
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. (n.d.). Space exploration and innovation. United Nations. https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/sk/ourwork/topics/space-exploration-and-innovation.html