Next month, a record-setting flight around the world will take place - without any fuel. Two Swiss pilots announced their flight route for their global flight in their solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, according to Live Science.
André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard will start from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in late February or early March. They'll make stops in Muscat, Oman; the Indian cities Ahmedabad and Varanasi; Mandalay, Myanmar; and the Chinese cities Chongqing and Nanjing, according to Live Science. Then on to Hawaii, and then the continental United States: Phoenix, somewhere to-be-determined in the Midwest and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, before crossing the Atlantic. The pilots will stop somewhere in southern Europe or northern Africa, according to Live Science, before returning to Abu Dhabi in late July or early August.
Solar Impulse is the first aircraft that can fly day and night. Solar panels store energy in batteries that are used for night flying, according to Live Science.
The carbon-fiber plane was unveiled in April 2014. It is blanketed in 17,248 solar cells and has a 236-foot wingspan. It can only support one pilot at a time, so Borschberg and Piccard will have to take turns.
