{"id":12929,"date":"2025-01-21T12:02:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-sets-sights-on-mars-terrain-with-revolutionary-tire-tech\/"},"modified":"2025-01-21T12:02:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:02:49","slug":"nasa-sets-sights-on-mars-terrain-with-revolutionary-tire-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-sets-sights-on-mars-terrain-with-revolutionary-tire-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Sets Sights on Mars Terrain with Revolutionary Tire Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Sets Sights on Mars Terrain with Revolutionary Tire Tech<\/h2>\n

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4 min read<\/p>\n

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A test rover with shape memory alloy spring tires traverses rocky, Martian-simulated terrain.<\/div>\n
Credit<\/strong>: NASA<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The mystique of Mars has been studied for centuries. The fourth planet from the Sun is reminiscent of a rich, red desert and features a rugged surface challenging to traverse. While several robotic missions have landed on Mars, NASA has only explored 1% of its surface. Ahead of future human and robotic missions to the Red Planet, NASA recently completed rigorous rover testing on Martian-simulated terrain, featuring revolutionary shape memory alloy spring tire technology developed at the agency\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland in partnership with Goodyear Tire & Rubber.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Rovers \u2014 mobile robots that explore lunar or planetary surfaces \u2014 must be equipped with adequate tires for the environments they\u2019re exploring. As Mars has an uneven, rocky surface, durable tires are essential for mobility. Shape memory alloy (SMA) spring tires help make that possible.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Shape memory alloys are metals that can return to their original shape after being bent, stretched, heated, and cooled. NASA has used them for decades, but applying this technology to tires is a fairly new concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe at Glenn are one of the world leaders in bringing the science and understanding of how you change the alloy compositions, how you change the processing of the material, and how you model these systems in a way that we can control and stabilize the behaviors so that they can actually be utilized in real applications,\u201d said Dr. Santo Padula II, materials research engineer at NASA Glenn.<\/p>\n

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Researchers from NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center and Airbus Defence & Space pose with a test rover on Martian-simulated terrain.<\/div>\n
Credit<\/strong>: NASA<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Padula and his team have tested several applications for SMAs, but his epiphany of the possibilities for tires came about because of a chance encounter.<\/p>\n

While leaving a meeting, Padula encountered Colin Creager, a mechanical engineer at NASA Glenn whom he hadn\u2019t seen in years. Creager used the opportunity to tell him about the work he was doing in the NASA Glenn Simulated Lunar Operations (SLOPE) Laboratory, which can simulate the surfaces of the Moon and Mars to help scientists test rover performance. He brought Padula to the lab, where Padula immediately took note of the spring tires. At the time, they were made of steel.<\/p>\n

Padula remarked, \u201cThe minute I saw the tire, I said, aren\u2019t you having problems with those plasticizing?\u201d Plasticizing refers to a metal undergoing deformation that isn\u2019t reversible and can lead to damage or failure of the component.<\/p>\n

\u201cColin told me, \u2018That\u2019s the only problem we can\u2019t solve.\u2019\u201d Padula continued, \u201cI said, I have your solution. I\u2019m developing a new alloy that will solve that. And that\u2019s how SMA tires started.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, Padula, Creager, and their teams joined forces to improve NASA\u2019s existing spring tires with a game-changing material: nickel-titanium SMAs. The metal can accommodate deformation despite extreme stress, permitting the tires to return to their original shape even with rigorous impact, which is not possible for spring tires made with conventional metal.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Credit<\/strong>: NASA<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since then, research has been abundant, and in the fall of 2024, teams from NASA Glenn traveled to Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, United Kingdom, to test NASA\u2019s innovative SMA spring tires. Testing took place at the Airbus Mars Yard \u2014 an enclosed facility created to simulate the harsh conditions of Martian terrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went out there with the team, we brought our motion tracking system and did different tests uphill and back downhill,\u201d Creager said. \u201cWe conducted a lot of cross slope tests over rocks and sand where the focus was on understanding stability because this was something we had never tested before.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the tests, researchers monitored rovers as the wheels went over rocks, paying close attention to how much the crowns of the tires shifted, any damage, and downhill sliding. The team expected sliding and shifting, but it was very minimal, and testing met all expectations. Researchers also gathered insights about the tires\u2019 stability, maneuverability, and rock traversal capabilities.<\/p>\n

As NASA continues to advance systems for deep space exploration, the agency\u2019s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility program enlisted Padula to research additional ways to improve the properties of SMAs for future rover tires and other potential uses, including lunar environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to extend the operating temperature capability of SMAs for applications like tires, and to look at applying these materials for habitat protection,\u201d Padula said. \u201cWe need new materials for extreme environments that can provide energy absorption for micrometeorite strikes that happen on the Moon to enable things like habitat structures for large numbers of astronauts and scientists to do work on the Moon and Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers say shape memory alloy spring tires are just the beginning.<\/p>\n

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The mystique of Mars has been studied for centuries. The fourth planet from the Sun is reminiscent of a rich, red desert and features a rugged surface challenging to traverse. While several robotic missions have landed on Mars, NASA has only explored 1% of its surface. Ahead of future human and robotic missions to the [\u2026] Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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