The Skies Go Green

If at first glance you guessed that these pictures are out of a science fiction movie; you’d be wrong. They are actually green airplanes designed by an MIT-led design innovation team created with the intentions of helping guide NASA’s aeronautics research over the next 25 years. These planes reportedly use 70 percent less fuel than current planes while also reducing noise and emission of nitrogen oxides. These designs came as part of a $2.1 million research contract led by faculty from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

This research and design will enable greener airplanes to take flight around 2035. Their objective was to develop concepts for, and evaluate the potential of, quieter subsonic commercial planes that would burn 70 percent less fuel and emit 75 percent less than today’s commercial planes. NASA’s other request was an airplane that could take off on shorter runways. This task is extremely difficult because over the past 50 years the aircraft silhouette has basically remained unchanged. Seen here is MIT’s 180-passenger D “double bubble” series to replace the Boeing 737 and the 350-passenger H “hybrid wing body” series to replace the 777 that is used for international flights.