Swiss solar plane will fly around the world

A Swiss solar-powered plane took off this Tuesday March 10 in Muscat, Oman, and headed to India in the second tranche of its historic trip around the world.

The Solar Impulse 2 took off just before dawn on Tuesday for a flight of 1,465 kilometers (910 miles) from Muscat to Ahmedabad, a trip that would take about 16 hours.

The craft is scheduled to make several stops on his journey 35,000 kilometers (21,700 miles).

Airplane wings are covered with more than 17,000 solar cells that recharge the batteries of the aircraft. It fly ideally about 25 knots, or 45 kilometers (28 miles) per hour.

The Swiss scouts say their goal is to stress the importance of renewable energy and spirit of innovation. They said that this mission is “a strong message towards clean technologies”.