On this night in science
Around the world without stopping
December 23, 1986
On this day in 1986, two pilots, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, landed in California after flying all the way around the world without stopping and without adding any fuel. Their light, long-winged airplane, called Voyager, had been in the air for nine days.
Why it mattered
No airplane had ever done that before. Voyager was built from very light materials, and at takeoff, most of its weight was fuel.
Wonder together
If you had to stay in a tiny airplane for nine whole days, what would you bring?