NASA is advancing plans for a sustainable lunar base, and reliable surface mobility will be essential for helping astronauts and robotic vehicles travel farther across the Moon.
To support that goal, the Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge invited innovators from around the world to design and build the next generation of lunar rover wheels.
Five teams from 49 countries were selected from 128 applications to compete in the final stage. Their prototype lunar wheels were tested on July 31 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The competition sought a lightweight, durable, and scalable wheel capable of supporting long-duration lunar surface missions. Each design also needed to absorb impacts, maintain traction at higher speeds, and withstand the Moon’s extreme environment.
“Every kilometer the spacecraft can reliably travel increases the distance it can explore, the science it can accomplish, and the infrastructure it can build,” said Ed Herrera, a robotics engineer at Johnson Space Center and co-leader of the challenge.
NASA Johnson will use ground-based prototypes to evaluate advanced lunar mobility technologies. Future Lunar Terrain Vehicles are expected to reach the Moon through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative. During the challenge, each wheel design was attached to the 45-kilogram MicroChariot test rover and driven through courses at Johnson’s Rock Yard. The tests evaluated wheel performance across multiple terrain types, including slopes, rocks, and loose soil.
“Crowdsourcing gives us the opportunity to think beyond traditional approaches in designing the lunar wheel,” Herrera said. “The more wheel technologies we can develop and understand, the more options we have to meet the needs of different vehicles, terrains, and missions on the Moon and Mars.”
The five finalists produced distinctly different approaches to lunar rover wheel design.
Created by Hellenic Technology of Robotics SA, the HTR Variable Flex Lunar Wheel features an internal system that can adjust the wheel’s stiffness based on terrain conditions and vehicle requirements. The team adapted technology it had spent approximately a decade developing for terrestrial wheels.
The Hiper Wheel, created by Hyperbola, combines tensioned cables with a corrugated structure to create a spring-like response. This design allows the wheel to flex without relying on conventional radial spokes.
Huff Helo Inc. developed the Huff Helo Flexible Titanium Wheel using molded titanium sheet metal for both its structural frame and spring system. During testing, the team discovered that the wheel’s strength also made it stiffer, causing it to bounce over some obstacles instead of conforming closely to the terrain.
Created by Deborah and Craig Payne, the Payne Aviation Wheel draws inspiration from aircraft engineering and early automotive tire designs. The aircraft mechanic behind the concept combined pneumatic principles with historical approaches to tire construction.
The winning Scotch Pad tire concept was developed by Australian mechanical engineers Daniel Bloomfield and his son, Isaac Bloomfield. Their prototype uses a Nomex-based tire structure supported by an aluminum hub. The flexible material allows the tire to deform over uneven ground, while the internal support helps it retain its shape. An epoxy coating and corundum-grit exterior improve traction on challenging lunar terrain.
Testing at the Rock Yard highlighted the importance of matching wheel technology to specific lunar environments. Loose soil can reduce traction, while rocks and slopes place additional demands on wheel performance, vehicle stability, and overall mobility.
As lunar exploration expands, future vehicles will need different combinations of speed, payload capacity, durability, and terrain performance.
Exploring a broad range of wheel concepts was a central goal of the challenge. By evaluating different designs, NASA engineers can identify and advance technologies suited to a variety of lunar vehicles, surfaces, and mission objectives.
“This challenge brought new ideas from outside traditional industry and helped us identify wheel technologies that may be suitable for long-duration ground operations,” said Lucien Junkin, a robotics engineer at Johnson and co-leader of the challenge.
Future testing could examine how the lunar rover wheels perform in simulated Moon dust, vacuum conditions, and extreme temperatures inside Johnson Space Center’s thermal vacuum chamber. Engineers may also evaluate the designs at different sizes and loads, including during extended-distance tests.
“Mobility is key to everything we want to do on the Moon,” Junkin said. “The farther we want to explore, the more advances we need to make in wheel technology to get there.”
The Common Robotics Project within the Robotics Systems Technology Division of NASA Johnson’s Engineering Division conducted the Rock ’n’ Roll with NASA Challenge. NASA’s Collaborative Innovation Center of Excellence, part of the Awards, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, administered the challenge contract. Students from NASA’s Robotics Academy helped prepare the hardware and support the competition, while engineers from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland reviewed concepts and proposals. HeroX managed the challenge on NASA’s behalf.
Source: www.nasa.gov