Anika Begay
In 2030, approximately In six years, American astronauts will return to the surface of the moon. When they land, they will face the same challenge as millions of newly licensed teenagers around the world: they will need a good ride.
The lunar mission, called Artemis V, is expected to send two astronauts to the lunar surface to conduct six days of scientific experiments at the moon’s south pole. To do the work, NASA is commissioning them to ride a set of wheels, with emphasis on wheels.
This spring, NASA announced that three teams had been selected to conduct a yearlong study of what it would take to develop a Lunar Terrain Vehicle, or LTV. The teams, two of which are consortiums of companies, included two tire companies: Goodyear and Michelin. The other contender, Venturi Astrolab, debuted its lunar wheel design.
The finalist for the contract will likely be announced in about a year, and whoever designs the LTV will face some serious challenges. NASA has asked that the rover not only be ready to launch with two astronauts aboard, but also remain on the Moon for years to perform scientific experiments and commercial work, even without humans.
Put your standard rubber car tires on the moon, especially at the south pole in the middle of the lunar night, where temperatures can reach -300 degrees Fahrenheit, and nothing good will happen. The tires will sink into the loose lunar soil, and the intense solar radiation on the moon, which has no protective atmosphere, will immediately begin to break down the rubber. The extreme cold will then freeze the tires, making them unable to deform or compress and making them harder to roll. They will become brittle and shatter.
The problems only get worse with time. The moon’s soil, or lunar regolith, is particularly abrasive, says Florian Vilcot, an innovation expert and designer at Michelin. That abrasiveness threatens to quickly tear apart any unequipped material. That’s especially important for LTV because Michelin is designing a tire that will last 10 years and travel more than 6,200 miles. (For comparison, the Lunar Rovers or “moon buggies” involved in the Apollo missions in the early 1970s each traveled about 18 miles.)
Furthermore, NASA documents outlining the required specifications for LTVs note that while the agency does not floor for the vehicle to jump, “there will be unexpected moments” when a wheel might have to leave the surface of the moon.
