​First step and first record for Solar Impulse!

On March 9th, Solar Impulse 2, a solar plane equipped with 17,000 photovoltaic cells, took off from Abu Dhabi for a trip around the world without fuel. Traveling 35,000 km in twelve steps, the voyage is meant to promote clean energy.After a stop in Muscat (Oman), the plane landed in Ahmedabad, India, on March 10th, having traveled 1,465 km in a little over 13 hours. The next stop will be Varanasi (Benares), still in India.The solar plane has already beaten a world record for the longest distance traveled by a plane powered only by solar energy.Pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg trade places at each stop, since the plane only has one seat. Powered by its 17,000 solar cells on its 72-meter wingspan, the Solar Impulse 2 is made of carbon fiber, weighing only 2.5 tons – the equivalent of a family-size 4x4. The plane will continue its voyage for the next five months and should return to Abu Dhabi this summer.