[Scape]

This aircraft runs on sunlight, and thus can fly as long as the sun shines (which, of course, it always does above the clouds). You can see the panels inside. It's made it with off-the-shelf materials, for about $1,000.
If Daniel Geery, an elementary school teacher, can make this happen with solar panels that are less than 6% efficient, it is worth contemplating what could be done.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VBTKEPAzvA[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPbu5UeW4uk[/youtube]

NASA's Phoenix Mars mission is the first in the space agency's Scout series, a class of spacecraft designed to be inventive but relatively low-cost in furthering Mars exploration. Phoenix is headed for liftoff in August 2007, cruise across the vacuum void for 10 months and set itself down on the red planet in late May 2008. This time there's no bouncing to full-stop on air bags. It will come to a soft touchdown using controlled thrusters.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-jrLeI9Ews[/youtube]