UAE –  It’s taken more than 500 days and overcome countless problems, but the epic journey of Solar Impulse 2 is finally complete.

The experimental solar-powered plane made aviation history when it landed in Abu Dhabi yesterday , after successfully circumnavigating the globe without using a single drop of fuel. The record-breaking mission flown by two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, evoked memories of the likes of the Wright brothers and Amelia Earhart — aviation pioneers with a similar spirit of adventure and innovation.

Borschberg is an ex-fighter pilot and MIT engineering graduate, while Piccard — who also made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight in 1999 — comes from a long line of adventurers.(CNN.COM/photo: Getty Images)…[+]