Right now an airplane powered entirely by the sun is nearing the end of its historic journey across the United States.
The project, called Solar Impulse, was initiated by Swiss Psychiatrist and Balloonist Bertrand Piccard and Businessman Andr Borschberg. They embarked on an ambitious project to create an aircraft capable of intercontinental flights using 100% renewable solar power.
Solar Impulse describes their project as:
an innovative project leveraging technological prowess and the spirit of adventure by means of an airplane.
According to Piccard, they aim to make environmentalism inspiring, exciting, and sexy. Just looking at the photos of this incredible plane flying over the golden gate bridge in San Francisco, I dare say theyve done it!
In the century since the Wright Brothers took flight in the world’s first airplane, we’ve put a man on the moon, landed on Mars and harnessed carbon-free energy. Human ingenuity knows no bounds.
Climate change is one of the most daunting problems our species has ever faced. But seeing more projects like Solar Impulse popping up all around the world gives me hope that we can address it.
If you are inspired by clean energy projects like Solar Impulse or just think this plane is really cool, share the good news with your friends:
