Lindbergh: 2015

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are flying around the world. In times when people are living in space ships, why is this flight important? They are flying an aircraft powered by the sun.

Thus far, they have made it from Abu Dhabi to Nanjing, China. They have logged over 8,000 miles and are going to try another 5,000 mile trip, from China to Hawaii. They estimate it will take 5 days, during which the sole pilot can only take 20-minute naps.

While the plane looks pretty big, it weighs only 5,071 pounds, about as much as a minivan. Much of that weight comes from the four batteries that sit behind four propellers. When the plane is in flight, those batteries are recharged by 17,248 feather-light solar cells on top of the wings. The batteries then help power the aircraft at night.