Qantas is testing a Boeing 787-9 to fly between New York and Sydney nonstop for the first time. Source: Qantas

Can a 20-hour flight ever be bearable? Australian airline Qantas wants to figure that out with its first ever nonstop flight from New York to Sydney, a venture it calls Project Sunrise. The 10,000-mile trip, which takes off Friday night from New York and lands Sunday morning local time, would be the world's longest nonstop flight, and Qantas wants travelers to get on Sydney time as soon as possible. "We'll be encouraging customers to drink coffee on the flight," said Phil Capps, Qantas' head of customer experience. It will be the first time Qantas is collecting data for a route before operating it. Qantas is teaming up with researchers from the University of Sydney and setting up the Boeing 787-9 as a laboratory, testing recipes, lighting schemes, temperatures and stretching exercises specially designed to combat jet lag on six volunteer passengers. They'll be seated in business class.

Qantas estimates it would start the flights in 2022 or 2023. Aircraft performance has improved in recent years, and carriers are pushing the limits of ultra-long-haul travel. Singapore Airlines last year resumed nonstop service from the New York area to Singapore with an 18½-hour nonstop from Newark. Qantas in 2018 debuted a more than 17-hour flight from Perth in Western Australia to London. Qatar Airways operates a nearly 17-hour trip from Doha to Auckland. Just 50 people, including pilots and cabin crew, will be on board Qantas' marathon nonstop to Sydney, because the aircraft can only handle that range with a reduced payload. The route isn't official yet — Qantas is pushing both Boeing and its European rival Airbus to develop aircraft that could perform that mission with a full load of passengers.

Pilots will wear brain monitors during the nearly 20-hour flight. Source: Qantas

Urine samples, spicy food