Saraceno’s balloon flew over the Salinas Grandes salt flat, making it the first time a human has flown without the use of any fossil fuels, only air and sun.

“Fly with Aerocene Pacha,” Tomás Saraceno for Aerocene, 21-28 January 2020, Salinas Grandes, Jujuy, Argentina.
Human Solar Free Flight as part of Connect, BTS, curated by DaeHyung Lee (all images courtesy the artist and Aerocene Foundation; photography by Studio Tomás Saraceno, 2020; licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by Aerocene Foundation)

Artist Tomás Saraceno launched a solar air balloon above the Salinas Grandes salt flat in Jujuy, Argentina, achieving the world’s first manned sun-powered free flight. In a series of journeys between January 21 and 28, Saraceno’s balloon broke six records with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for altitude, distance, and duration in both the general and female categories, since its pilot Leticia Marques is a woman.

Titled “Fly with Aerocene Pacha” after the Incan concept of the cosmos, the project was presented as part of South Korean band BTS’s global public art initiative “CONNECT, BTS” and is tethered to Saraceno’s longstanding interest in the synthesis of art and environmental sustainability. Unlike traditional hot air balloons, which depend on carbon fossil fuel derivatives, Saraceno’s vessel is propelled solely by solar energy and air. The aerial sculpture invites humans to imagine alternative means of mobility that do not require burning fossil fuels, the primary cause of global warming and the climate emergency.

“‘Fly with Aerocene Pacha’ presents an achievable utopia and a challenge to us all to connect together and change our habits, not our climate,” said Saraceno in a press release.

The balloon, which absorbs ultraviolet rays to raise its temperature and ascend into the atmosphere, can lift up to 250 kg (~551 lb) and transport two human passengers. During a test flight on January 25, it broke altitude and duration records, rising to 272.1 meters (~893 feet) and floating for an hour and 21 minutes. On January 28, the balloon’s official launch date, it broke distance records by traversing 2.56 km (~1.59 miles). More than 500 people were present at Salinas Grandes to witness the flight, and around 28,000 tuned in to an online live stream.[…]

Read More: Artist Tomás Saraceno Launches a Fuel-Free Solar Air Balloon, Breaking World Records