Solar Impulse 2 lands in Phoenix after flight from Silicon Valley

Solar Impulse 2 landed Monday in suburban Phoenix, Arizona in the southwestern United States after a 16-hour, 720-mile (1,159 km) flight from Silicon Valley, California.

"We are in Phoenix," Solar Impulse said on its website. "Solar Impulse lands in one of the states with the highest penetration of solar energy."

Piloted by Swiss adventurer Andre Borschberg, the plane took off from Moffett Federal Airfield shortly after 5 a.m. local time (1200 GMT), starting its trek across the United States and then landing at Phoenix Goodyear Airport, Arizona, shy of 9 p.m. local time (0400 GMT).

For Borschberg, it was the first time to take on a round-the-world flight after his record-breaking Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii achievement in 2015.

The wings of the Solar Impulse 2 are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The goal of the Solar Impulse 2, which does not use fuel or release polluting emissions, is to prove the benefits of solar technology and help wean the world off its reliance on fossil fuels.

After Phoenix, the plane will make three more U.S. stops, including New York, before heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or North Africa.

The solar plane's journey started last year in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, but after battery troubles in Hawaii the team was forced to delay their journey until this spring. They successfully flew from Hawaii to the San Francisco area two weeks ago, and are moving across the United States. Endi