This Isn't Your Father's Automobile (Or Airplane) Tire

Michelin has developed a new lunar wheel for the next generation of NASA moon rover vehicles. The structurally-supported tire and wheel assembly, made of breakthrough composite materials, was jointly developed at Michelin's European and North American research centers.

This unique innovation will help Michelin meet NASA's mobility challenges for manned and unmanned moon missions planned for the coming decade, according to the tire manufacturer.

"Michelin has partnered with NASA for more than 20 years to provide tires for the space shuttle, and now we are taking our involvement a step further in support of the next generation of space exploration," said David Stafford, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research Company. "This project demonstrates Michelin's ability to engineer advanced technology that meets the mobility needs of the world's most demanding customers, including NASA."

Based on the Michelin TWILL assembly, the Lunar Wheel maintains flexibility and constant ground contact pressure that enables moon rovers to traverse loose soil and lunar craters. The Lunar Wheel has a low mass yet maintains a high load capacity that is 3.3 times more efficient than the original Apollo Lunar Rover wheels.

The wheel structure, developed by Michelin, employs Michelin-patented composite materials. Its textile tread, developed in conjunction with Clemson University and Milliken & Company, enables moon rovers to maintain traction at very low temperatures.

"This new technology not only applies to lunar missions, but may also be directly leveraged into other mobility applications requiring light-weight and low rolling resistance," said Stafford. "It's an exciting advance for mobility in space and here on Earth."

Funded in part by a grant from NASA's Innovative Partnership Program, the Michelin Lunar Wheel will be featured on the Scarab Rover, a lunar robot designed by Carnegie Mellon University, in cooperation with NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program for its In-Situ Resource Utilization project. Equipped with a drill designed to cut through layers of lunar soil, the Scarab Rover is capable of operating in continual darkness and extremely cold temperatures with little power.

Michelin has also developed a lunar wheel for the Athlete Rover, a six-limbed lunar rover capable of transporting cargo over any terrain to aid NASA in the assembly of the lunar outpost.

FMI: www.michelin-us.com, www.nasa.gov