Aurora Flight Sciences (www.aurora.aero) — an aviation and aeronautics research subsidiary of Boeing — continues its nearly 30-year legacy of advancing autonomous systems with Odysseus, “the world’s most capable solar-powered autonomous aircraft”, which is due to make its first flight in spring 2019.

Powered only by the sun via advanced solar cells and built with lightweight materials, Odysseus can effectively fly indefinitely.

The inspiration for the aircraft started with the Daedalus Project, which set a record for human-powered flight in 1988 with a 72-mile journey between Crete and Santorini — a record that still stands today. The project was organised and led by John Langford and other MIT colleagues; they later formed Aurora.

Mr Langford said: “Odysseus was an idea — born out of Daedalus — that is now a real solution to advancing the important research around climate change and other atmospheric chemistry problems. It offers persistence like no other solar aircraft of its kind, which is why it is such a capable and necessary platform for researchers.”

Odysseus can persistently and autonomously remain on station, enabling communication and data gathering over a specific location.

It has a greater year-round global operating zone and can carry a larger payload than any other aircraft in development or production in its class.

It can be deployed at a fraction of the cost of a satellite and can spend much more time aloft than a conventional UAV. It can also be quickly customised, re-tasked and relocated, as missions evolve.

Odysseus can give climate and weather researchers a long-term high-resolution observation capability.

It can measure vegetation, ice coverage and flow rates, and even ground moisture; it can also track and measure the movement of severe weather events.