Michelin has already been in on the action, actively designing new tires for lunar missions. Their ambitious goal is to build a connected network across 10,000 kilometers in the next 10 years. As part of this initiative, Sylvain Barthet, who oversees Michelin’s lunar airless wheel program in Clermont-Ferrand, France, is leading the charge in developing innovative materials to meet the unique challenges of the Moon’s surface.
Given the triple threat of ice, dust, and radiation, Michelin is working on designing tires to withstand lunarscapes. They’re focusing on high-performance plastics engineered for high-speed, long-haul applications.
Our challenges
The lunar environment presents unique challenges. In the permanent shadow of lunar poles, temperatures may fall below -230 degrees Celsius, approaching absolute zero. This requires the creation of materials that not only resist these elevated temperatures but offer length of service and peace of mind.
Michelin, working together with NASA and several other large players in this field, is one of the key leaders. Meanwhile, Michelin and Bridgestone are each leading their own consortiums. Companies pitch their tire tech proposals to NASA, with the goal of having their prototypes used on the Moon in a future lunar mission. Michelin bets on new tire-making technology with high-performance plastics. These innovative materials are key to protecting the tires from wear and tear under massive, sustained use on the harsh lunar surface.
Testing is an important part of Michelin’s development process. For its tests, the company sends out a uniquely designed rover to measure velocity. There, it remotely drives this rover around a volcano near Clermont-Ferrand to simulate lunar conditions. This site was selected for its highly powdery surface, which is very similar to the surface of the Moon. This testing, done at the same level as every Michelin design, allows Michelin to verify that their designs can survive the difficulties of the lunar environment.
Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin, has been quoted on the urgent necessity of durability. He maintains that encountering a puncture in the lunar environment is just not an option. So the stakes couldn’t be higher! The Apollo lunar rovers, constructed without a conventional tire tread but rather made from zinc-coated piano wire knit into a tough mesh configuration, afforded astronauts only a 21-mile operational range. By comparison, Michelin’s mission is to create tires that can go at least three times that distance without falling apart.
Michelin’s specialized lunar tires run about $150 (£120) apiece. This price is justified due to their intricate engineering and premium material makeup in comparison to regular tires. This investment demonstrates the continued dedication to developing powerful, innovative solutions to enable pioneering missions into deep space.
In case you missed it, Michelin is working on lunar tires! Michelin lunar tires. Without realizing it, they’re developing tough tires for motorcycles, tailor made for the rugged backroads. This development is indicative of Michelin’s overarching strategy to diversify its product portfolio in order to cater to targeted market demands.
Partnership with experts in materials science, like the Intrepid team, help deepen Michelin’s innovation pipeline. Santo Padula is a NASA aerospace engineer and member of Glenn’s aerospace systems directorate. Along the way, he’s developed materials science expertise that will be invaluable to the team. Dr. Padula has a doctoral degree in this area. He’s busy evaluating tire materials that would work well for lunar applications.
One promising material in the works is Nitinol, a heat-activated alloy of nickel and titanium. Earl Patrick Cole, CEO of The Smart Tire Company, describes Nitinol’s unique properties: it can bend and stretch while returning to its original shape. Such attributes make Nitinol a strong candidate for creating tires that could adapt to the extreme conditions found on the Moon.
Michelin, meanwhile, is not looking back as it barrels forward toward its ambitious lunar tire project. Working hand-in-hand with NASA and other industry leaders will be key in determining how the future of lunar exploration will unfold. Smart tire innovation enhances overall vehicle efficiency and performance. It helps to fulfill the much larger goal of ensuring a permanent and sustainable human and robotic presence on the Moon.
