Photo courtesy of PlanetSolar.org.

It’s been an incredible ride, but today will be the culmination of a truly remarkable trip. The vessel Tûranor PlanetSolar will dock in Monaco after an amazing, 32,000 mile journey around the world.

The Tûranor is a catamaran that runs on solar energy only. It is the first ship to make such a voyage, and an amazing accomplishment for the entire PlanetSolar team.

Planet Solar is the vision of Rapheal Domjan, a 39-year-old Swiss man with a seed of an idea that hatched in 2004. Two years of design and development led to the creation of this visually stunning and technically jaw-dropping ship.

The journey began in September 2010 from Monaco, with planned stops along the way in cities such as Miami, Hong Kong and Mumbai. Staying as close to the equator as possible, the ship traversed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as the Panama and Suez canals.

Of course, the ultimate success of the journey rested in the hands of the sun, but the diligent and creative work of the technical crew to keep its power source alive was equally impressive.

This journey clearly took a significant number of resources to help achieve its ultimate goal. And like any groundbreaking event, there were challenges along the way. Yet the size and scope of such an endeavor is so impressive that it’s difficult not to be inspired by the accomplishment.

Above all, the information gleaned along the way will hopefully help improve our solar capabilities worldwide.

For information about the ship, her crew and the journey, check out planetsolar.org.