The Solar Impulse - 2 aircraft, which is expected to arrive in India today, has taken off from Muscat, Oman, on its first sea crossing.
It is expected to land in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It took off at 6.35 a.m. local time.
Pilot Bertrand Piccard will fly the zero - fuel airplane across 1465km for an estimated time of 16 hours.
Piccard is well known for his ballooning exploits. Along with Brian Jones, he completed the first non - stop circumnavigation of the world in 1999, using the Breitling Orbiter 3 Balloon.
According to the BBC, the plane is stop off at various locations around the globe, to rest and to carry out maintenance, and also to spread a campaigning message about clean technologies.
Piccard will share pilot duties with fellow Swiss, Andre Borschbeng.
A trained engineer and former airforce3 pilot, he built a career as an entrepreneur in internet technologies.