After five days and more than 5,000 miles of flight over open ocean, the experimental aircraft Solar Impulse 2 has touched down in Hawaii
Swiss pilot André Borschberg, who also co-founded the program, touched down in Hawaii shortly after 6 a.m. local time in Kalaeloa. Borschberg has been sharing piloting duties with Bertrand Piccard, who will take over for the next leg of the trip.
Piccard (left) and Borschberg
The plan for the next leg is to have Piccard fly from Hawaii to Phoenix - a lengthy trek that will likely take four days. Before the plane leaves Oahu, however, maintenance crews will conduct a full inspection to make sure the fragile craft is up to the challenge. It's also crucial to take advantage of good weather, meaning the plane could be grounded until meteorologists determine the best time to take off.
From Phoenix, the plane will fly to New York and then across the Atlantic, eventually touching down in the United Arab Emirates, where the 21,000-mile journey began in March.
The lightweight Solar Impulse 2 uses no fuel whatsoever, relying on power collected from the solar panels on its massive wings. The plane's wingspan is wider than that of a Boeing 747, and an advanced charging system means it could theoretically stay in the air indefinitely. The plane isn't necessarily intended as a prototype for the future of air travel, but rather a demonstration of what solar power is capable of.
Solar power is predicted to become the world's most-used energy source within the next 40 years.
