Bridgestone develops new lunar rover concept tire

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. has developed a new lunar rover tire that provides improved performance over its predecessor, the Japanese group announced 28 March.

The new concept model of the tire will be displayed at the 39th space symposium, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, later this month, the group added.

Bridgestone introduced the first generation lunar rover tire in 2022, wherein it incorporated a technology inspired by the footpads of camels which can carry heavy loads across the desert.

In the second-generation to be unveiled later this month, the Japanese producer has placed “a soft, metal-based felt material on the tread area that contacts with the moon's surface, which is covered with fine sand called regolith.”

With the addition, Bridgestone said it has enhanced the frictional force between the tire and the regolith, resulting in “superior traction”.

For this new technology, Bridgestone said it had “fundamentally reevaluated” the skeletal structure and utilised its "air free" tire technology, introducing thin metal spokes to withstand the extreme lunar environment.

Bridgestone said as part of its ‘air free’ technology, it also divided the tread segment in the rotational direction to withstand the extreme lunar environment.

Furthermore, the group said it optimised the shape and thickness of the metal spokes using structural simulations.

This, it noted, allows the spokes to flex “while minimising localised strain on the metal spokes”.

This helps enhance the tire's durability and improve the traction and ability to move by increasing the contact area and reducing sinking with divided tread segment.

The lunar rover tire project is an initiative to expand the utilisation of "air free", which is positioned as “an exploratory business” in Bridgestone's mid term business plan (2024-2026).

In the future, the group aims to apply and refine the technology for tires used on earth.