Whoever said “It's not the destination, it's the journey” probably never had to suffer through a three-hour layover. But maybe in a not-too-distant future, getting to your destination might actually be enjoyable — and better for the planet, too.

With our eyes on the horizon, Inverse explores the future of transportation, featuring stories on everything from the e-bike revolution to supersonic jets. If any of these ambitious projects take off, the journey itself could become a lot more fun.

At a media event in January, NASA and Lockheed Martin dropped a curtain to reveal an experimental jet that could someday change the way people fly. As inspirational music played and fog crept across the floor, a plane with a long nose came into view.

The aircraft, the X-59, will hopefully fly faster than the speed of sound — and do so relatively quietly.

While the dream of routine supersonic flight for civilians seems like a futuristic one, it’s actually old. If supersonic flight sounds familiar, then you might recall the Concorde: the iconic, glamorous, ultra-expensive, and ultra-fast plane that British Airways and Air France flew from 1976 to 2003. Remarkably, the Concorde’s first flight was in 1969, the same year that astronauts first landed on the moon.

So now, in the near future, could supersonic commercial flight once again be a real thing? If so, the X-59 is one of the most tangible representations of a new push to bring back supersonic flight for commercial passengers.