PHOENIX

Record-breaking solar plane to land in Phoenix today

Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
The Republic | azcentral.com

A solar-powered plane attempting to make a trip around the world is scheduled to land at Phoenix Goodyear Airport on Monday before continuing on its journey.

Solar Impulse 2 undertakes a March maintenance flight, performed by test pilot Markus Scherdel in Hawaii, before the first round-the-world solar flight resumes in April 2016.

The Solar Impulse Si2 plane will be arriving from Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, Calif. The journey is 720 miles and will take the plane 16 hours to complete, according to Solar Impulse.

MORE:    See the latest news on the flight.

The goal of the Jules Verne-style journey is to bring awareness to green energy, according to Solar Impulse. The plane is the first of its kind to achieve an oceanic crossing.

The aircraft is the size of a Boeing 747, weighs 2.3 tons and carries one pilot, André Borschberg.

Borschberg will take off Monday at 5 a.m. and is expected to land in Goodyear at around 9 p.m.

Those interested in following the plane's progress can subscribe to updates on Solar Impulse's website.