Michelin reaching for the moon with airless tire technology

?Las Vegas, Nevada – Michelin is preparing to go to the moon by 2025 as part of a team put together by US aerospace giant Northrop Grumman, which bid for NASA’s Artemis programme last November. 

A model of the future lunar vehicle, equipped with a Michelin airless tire, was revealed to the general public for the first time at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier in January, said Michelin in a 12 Jan statement.

The tire will be capable of resisting the extreme conditions at the lunar pole, making exploring of the lunar surface easier and enabling “a sustainable presence on the moon” in 2025.

Ultimately the Michelin research & development team aims to equip vehicles destined for Mars. 

?

The Artemis programme developed by the US space agency NASA plans to send one man and one woman to the Moon in 2025. 

The two astronauts will travel around in a new lunar vehicle, looking for a site suitable for setting up a base camp. 

Michelin said participating in the programme offered an opportunity to acquire new knowledge in terms of mobility solutions and ‘stimulated’ its innovation capacities. 

The French tire maker said it will rely on its ‘high-technology materials’ and the know-how acquired in the development of airless solutions for the development of the lunar tire. 

?