Solar Car Team to Compete in American Solar Challenge

It's not your typical college road trip.  A team of Illinois State University students will drive a car 1,100 miles from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Naperville, Illinois, using only sunlight for fuel.  The student-built, solar-powered vehicle, Mercury III, will be an entry in the 2010 American Solar Challenge (ASC) race, beginning on June 19.  The race includes an overnight stop on the Illinois State campus.  

The American Solar Challenge race brings together teams from U.S., Canadian, Taiwanese and German universities. Vehicles entered in the race must be powered solely by sunshine, using photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity.Illinois State student teams have participated in solar-powered vehicle competitions since 2005.

Team Mercury members and their faculty advisors will first travel to Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, June 14-18, for pre-race "scrutineering" by ASC officials and a qualifying run on a closed track. During the "scrutineering" process, all solar-powered vehicles will be inspected to make sure they meet race criteria and safety requirements. All drivers will be required to demonstrate their ability to handle the vehicles at highway speeds.

The American Solar Challenge race includes stages stops and checkpoints at various locations in Missouri and Kansas, as well as Alton, Illinois.  Racers will also have an overnight stop on the Illinois State campus on June 25.  The final leg of the race to Naperville will begin on the morning of June 26 in front of the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal.  Following the race the team's Mercury III car will be on display for several days at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

Construction of Mercury III has been an ongoing project over the past several months. A solar array, consisting of more than 500 photovoltaic cells, covers the car's top surface and provides energy to an electric motor that moves the 700 pound vehicle (combined weight of car and driver) at an average cruising speed of 45 mph and to a maximum speed of around 65 mph. The photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity that is stored in nickel metal hydride batteries for use on cloudy days.                             

Professors Daniel Holland, George Rutherford, David Marx and staff member Jim Dunham of Illinois State's Physics Department serve as faculty advisors for Team Mercury. The team is a multidisciplinary group of students who have dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to designing and building Mercury III  The team is led by Al Hackel, a senior music major.

Support for the project comes from Illinois State University and from a variety of corporate and private sponsors who have donated money, equipment, materials and other in-kind gifts.  For more information on Team Mercury visit www.solarcar.ilstu.edu