Goodyear developing new lunar vehicle tire for NASA's Artemis program
It's been nearly 40 years since the last Lunar Rover took Apollo 17 astronauts more than 17 miles across the moon's surface. Now, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is gearing up for a long-lasting replacement for a return to the moon as early as 2025.
In a release, Goodyear said it has worked with NASA since the Apollo lunar missions to advance designs for a lunar vehicle tire. It now will join Lockheed Martin to develop a lunar mobility vehicle for extended-use commercial vehicle operations on the moon.
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The engineering challenges are not trivial. The Apollo lunar rovers were purposely built for just a few days of use on excursions within five miles of their landing sites. Future missions will need to traverse rugged terrain over much longer distances while operating in greater temperature extremes.
The company says new tire capabilities will need to be developed for years of durability, which includes surviving overnight temperatures of minus 250 degrees and daytime temperatures of over 250 degrees.
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The program is expected to lead to benefits back on Earth.
“Everything we learn from making tires for the moon’s extremely difficult operating environment will help us make better airless tires on Earth,” said Chris Helsel, senior vice president of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer at Goodyear.
Artemis: Return to the moon
NASA's Artemis Program, named after Apollo's twin sister and the goddess of the moon in Greek myth, is planned to put the first woman and first person of color on the moon.
Plans are to put an orbiter "Gateway" around the moon, and Artemis Base Camp on the surface as early as 2025, though the program has suffered delays.
“NASA’s Artemis program to live and work on the moon has a clear need for lunar surface transportation that we intend to meet with vehicles driven by astronauts or operated autonomously without crew,” said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin.
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“We’re developing this new generation of lunar mobility vehicle to be available to NASA and for commercial companies and even other space agencies to support science and human exploration," Shireman said.
"This approach exemplifies NASA’s desire for industry to take the lead with commercial efforts that enable the agency to be one of many customers.”
The companies have already started testing concepts in lunar soil test beds.
Another teammate, MDA of Canada, recently announced its commercial robotic arm technology will be used on the human-rated lunar mobility vehicles.
Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-541-9433, or emarotta@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Goodyear making endurance lunar vehicle tire for NASA Artemis program
