Bridgestone Shows a Future Lunar Rover Tire
A 'well-known user who is shy' writes:
Bridgestone is showing their latest airless tire variant, this one designed for use on the moon including a very wide temperature range. Press release and a pic at, https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/news/research-development/bridgestones-concept-lunar-rover-tire-reevaluates-structure-and-technology.html
Inspired by the footpads of desert-traversing camels, Bridgestone's first-generation lunar rover tire integrated a soft, metal-based felt material into the tread area to enhance traction on the moon's regolith surface.
Building on this foundation, the second-generation tire introduces a robust skeletal structure, incorporating thin metal spokes and segmented tread design. These advancements, facilitated by structural simulations and digital technologies, are designed for durability and traction in the harsh lunar environment - characterized by rocks, sand, vacuum conditions and temperature fluctuations.
I'm not sure what camels have to do with anything except hype, but it would be interesting to hear how they manufacture "metal-based felt".
Same article also includes a link to Bridgestone's airless tire (competitor to the Michelin Tweel), here shown on a tiny city electric car, https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/news/new-tires-news/bridgestone-to-test-next-generation-air-free-concept-tire-technology-on-ultra-compact-evs.html Like the Tweel, these use plastic spokes and rubber tread sections.
Goodyear & Lockheed-Martin are also doing an update to the original Goodyear Apollo-era Lunar Rover tire, which looks quite different, https://www.tiretechnologyinternational.com/news/partnerships/goodyear-and-lockheed-martin-partner-for-development-of-lunar-mobility-vehicle-tires.html
Airless tires are nothing new, they existed before pneumatic tires. Looking at the pics in this short history, it's easy to see why they never went into large production -- complex and heavy -- but plenty of inventors tried, https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2010/10/19/earlier-and-resilienter
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