Space Age Dutch Car Wins World Solar Challenge

ADELAIDE, Australia, October 22, 2003 (ENS) - The Dutch solar car Nuna II, using technology developed by the European Space Agency, finished first today in the World Solar Challenge, a 3010 kilometer race across Australia for cars powered by solar energy.

Starting from Darwin on Sunday, Nuna II crossed the finish line in Adelaide in a new record breaking time of 30 hours and 54 minutes, beating the previous record of 32 hours and 39 minutes set by its Dutch precursor Nuna in 2001.

The average speed of Nuna II, nicknamed the Flying Dutchman by the Australian press, was 97 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour), an improvement on the previous record of 91.8 kilometers per hour (57 miles per hour) by Nuna.

Despite two quickly changed flat tires, Nuna II travelled 830 kilometers (515.7 miles) on the third racing day, an unprecedented distance travelled by a solar car in one day.

On the fourth and final day Nuna again pushed the limits by driving at a top speed of 110 kilometers per hour (68.35 miles per hour), setting a new world record.

Former ESA astronaut Wubbo Ockels and the Dutch student team of solar car Nuna II celebrate their victory after finishing the World Solar Challenge in Adelaide. (Photo by Niels Broekema courtesy European Space Agency)

The aerodynamically optimized outer shell consists of space age plastics to keep it light and strong. The main body is made from carbon fiber, reinforced on the upper side and on the wheel’s mudguards with aramide, better known under the trade name of Twaron.

Twaron is a material used in satellites as protection for micrometeorite impacts, and now also in high performance equipment like bulletproof vests.

The car’s shell is covered with the best triple junction gallium-arsenide solar cells, developed for satellites. These cells harvest up to 20 percent more energy than those used on Nuna for the 2001 race. Only weeks before the race, the European Space Agency (ESA) used these solar cells for the first time when the technology demonstrating SMART-1 mission was launched to the Moon.

Nuna II also carries Maximum Power Point Trackers, small devices that guarantee an optimal balance between power from the battery and the solar cells, even in less favorable situations like shade and cloud.

Many satellites also carry these devices, such as ESA's Rosetta mission to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, due for launch in February 2004.

Nuna II was built by a team of 12 students from the universities of Delft and Rotterdam.

ESA provided them with engineering support via its Technology Transfer Programme and also with general support via the Education Office, previously headed by former ESA astronaut Wubbo Ockels, who is an adviser to the team. Ockels guided the first space based solar car Nuna to its victory in 2001.