CLEVELAND — Developers NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are working on an out-of-this-world project that many drivers dream of. They are working on a tire that doesn't puncture or go flat that may change the tire industry and the future of space exploration.
What You Need To Know
- NASA Glenn Research Center has been developing novel tires for more than a decade
- A new tire made out of shape memory alloys is in development at NASA Glenn Research Center
- The new tire could allow future rovers to explore Mars more in-depth
- Mars has a harsh climate and the new tires need to be able to navigate obstacles
“They're made of a shape memory alloy," said Heather Oravec, the facilities and test lead for the Mars spring tire project. "They consist of
springs that are interwoven to form a mesh, and that mesh is then compressed together between two rims, like you would typically see on a bicycle tire or similar to that. And then the spring mesh acts as a very compliant medium that can actually grip obstacles when it climbs rocks or like a curb."This new tire could go to Mars. The tire is made from innovative shape memory alloys which would allow future rovers to navigate obstacles and explore Mars more in-depth.
Oravec is also a research associate professor for the University of Akron. She has worked for NASA Glenn Research Center since 2009.
“It is an honor when you can work a project from start to finish and you can see something from development to production, to flight, and actually see it succeed on the surface of the planet that you're sending it to,” said Oravec. “So, just everybody was so excited. We were so excited that Perseverance landed successfully and that it can now begin its mission because that gives us the green light to continue our developments of these spring tires for the next rover that will go up there.”
The Perseverance Rover that’s currently on Mars has 6-wheels. Oravec said for future rovers they’re proposing 4-wheeled rovers. This means that the tires on the 4-wheeled rovers will need to have more traction and be able to carry a heavier payload.
“So the entire purpose of these spring tires is to allow the rover to drive to the different sample caches that Perseverance is setting aside, go pick those up and bring them back to what is called the Mars Ascent Vehicle, which will also be part of that mission,” said Oravec. “So once it delivers those to the Mars Ascent Vehicle, basically the job of that Rover is done. That's an entire mission is to go collect those samples and bring them back so that those can then be launched into orbit. And we can collect those and bring those back to earth.”
Oravec said the next rover is not expected to go to Mars for a few more years, but seeing the tires finally coming to fruition makes her happy and excited for the future.
“We have such a great team here and this project has been so much fun and we just, we can't wait for launch dates to see these tires on the surface of Mars and watch them succeed,” said Oravec.
Engineers at NASA’s Glenn are continuing to work on these technologies for applications on Mars as well as on earth, including passenger vehicle, military, and aircraft tires.