Bridgestone debuts next-gen lunar rover concept tire

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Bridgestone Corp. has developed a new lunar rover tire that it claims exhibits improved performance over the first-generation design unveiled in 2019.

The new concept model of the tire was displayed at the 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, April 8-11.

Bridgestone's exhibit is located in the Japan's Space Industry booth organized by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Bridgestone said its first-generation lunar rover tire used its unique technology inspired by the footpads of camels that traverse deserts. By placing 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, Bridgestone said it has enhanced the frictional force between the tire and the regolith, resulting in improved traction.

The tire maker's second-generation tire applied the skeletal structure to meet the harsher demands for durability and traction on the lunar surface that the company discovered through its research and development efforts.

For the new structure, the company use technology gained thorough the development of next-generation "air free" tires and introduced thin metal spokes and divided the tread segment in the rotational direction to withstand the extreme lunar environment, which is characterized by rocks, sand, radiation exposure, vacuum conditions and intense temperature fluctuations.

With the advancement of both real and digital technologies, Bridgestone said it optimized the shape and thickness of the metal spokes using structural simulations. This allows the spokes to flex while minimizing localized strain on the metal spokes, thereby enhancing the tire's durability and improving the traction and ability to traverse by increasing the contact area and reducing sinking with divided tread segment.

The lunar rover tire project is an initiative to expand the utilization of "Air Free"—which is positioned as an exploratory business in Bridgestone's Mid Term Business Plan (2024-26)—from Earth to space and the lunar surface.

In the future, the company said it aims to apply the technology refined in the extreme lunar environment to tires used on Earth.