Space car on tour

Nuna leaves Lulea under a colourful cloud of balloons

Nuna II left the Teknikes Hus in Luleå to the waves of excited children along the road and under a cloud of hundreds of colourful balloons. It would be a long ride to Kiruna, about 350 kilometres along the E10. We did not see much sunlight during the day, and the sky became darker and darker as the convoy approached the Arctic circle. Soon it started to rain and we were forced to put Nuna II in the trailer for the rest of the way.
 
After seeing nothing but trees for hour after hour the team members were excited to finally see some reindeers along the road, but no camera was fast enough to capture them, not even in the hands of Wubbo Okkels running after them!

That evening we had a great dinner at the Scandic hotel. For Linda and Jonas, our Swedish tour aides, this was home. They guided some of us around the Kiruna nightlife and it was a festive evening.  
 

Nuna II Team arrive at the Arctic Circle

On Saturday morning Nuna was on display on the Open Day at the Esrange rocket launch site in Kiruna where locals could visit our solar car and other space-related exhibits. The weather was still grey but it stayed dry for the larger part of the day. At the Esrange area we had the opportunity to fly over the launch site by helicopter.

That afternoon we left for Narvik where we visited a solar-cell factory. Nuna was parked at the Høgskolen of Narvik where they gave as a tour. Everyone was really tired so glad to get to bed when we finally reached our hotel.

It was not a very long night, since we had to leave for Andoya at 7 o´clock Sunday morning. Unfortunately it was raining and very foggy so the Nuna II was driven by trailer. An hour later the weather conditions became more favourable so we could take her out again. Our new Norwegian support team was very happy since they had never seen Nuna II driving.
 
 

	Driver Bart Goorden feels the chill in the cockpit

The treat that we got when we arrived at Andoya was really overwhelming. The city seemed so small and so abandoned with the high hills around it, the wild sea and the small wooden houses. But it was as if all inhabitants had gathered in the sport centre to see this futuristic solar car! They had really laid on quite a show, with smoke effects and fascinating music. Rosita Suenson made an opening speech in Norwegian and introduced all the team members, then the car made a small tour around the parking lot. Then there was the big moment for Eric, Jonas and Rosita – their chance to drive the Nuna II for the first time!

And that´s where the Scandinavian Tour with Nuna II ends. Some of us left that same day for Kiruna, the others would follow the next day. On Tuesday, all of us will be back in the Netherlands.

We all had a great time in the north, and we enjoyed travelling through the beautiful landscapes of Norway and Sweden. But most importantly, we reached lots of people, young and old, and convinced them of the importance of solar energy and the potential of its applications.
 
 

Nuna 2 in Norway and Sweden. See enlarged map.

About the space car Nuna II
 
Nuna II is the fastest solar-powered car on Earth, with top speeds of 170 km/h, thanks to leading-edge technologies from Europe's space programmes, and is currently on tour in Sweden and Norway.

Travelling 3010 km in 31 hours and five minutes, Nuna II won the World Solar Challenge in Australia in October 2003. The car was built and driven by students from Delft University in The Netherlands.

ESA provided through its Technology Transfer Programme several of the key technologies onboard Nuna: solar cells, batteries, power control system and lightweight carbon-fibre plastics, all been developed for European satellite systems.

In particular the high-efficiency solar cells were novel technologies first flown on the SMART-1 satellite, built by the Swedish Space Corporation as prime contractor. The use of these cells and the other space technologies on a solar powered car is an excellent demonstration of the potential of space technology in sustainable transportation.

The Nuna II is visiting Sweden and Norway 14-22 August 2004 and touring nine cities, all with industries, research centres and universities active in the space field. The solar car will stop in Oslo, Gothenburg, Linköping, Stockholm, Uppsala, Luleå, Kiruna, Narvik, and Andenäs.