posted 12-04-2008 02:04 PM               

Michelin Develops Lunar Wheel For NASA Moon Rover Vehicles

Michelin has developed a new lunar wheel for the next generation of NASA moon rover vehicles. The structurally supported tire and wheel assembly, made of breakthrough composite materials, was jointly developed at Michelin's European and North American research centers. This unique innovation will help Michelin meet NASA's mobility challenges for manned and un-manned moon missions planned for the coming decade.

"Michelin has partnered with NASA for more than 20 years to provide tires for the space shuttle, and now we are taking our involvement a step further in support of the next generation of space exploration," said David Stafford, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research Company. "This project demonstrates Michelin's ability to engineer advanced technology that meets the mobility needs of the world's most demanding customers, including NASA."

Based on the award-winning MICHELIN TWEEL(R) assembly, the MICHELIN Lunar Wheel maintains flexibility and constant ground contact pressure that enables moon rovers to traverse loose soil and lunar craters. The MICHELIN Lunar Wheel has a low mass yet maintains a high load capacity that is 3.3 times more efficient than the original Apollo Lunar Rover wheels. The wheel structure, developed by Michelin, employs Michelin-patented composite materials. Its textile tread, developed in conjunction with Clemson University and Milliken & Company, enables moon rovers to maintain traction at very low temperatures.

"This new technology not only applies to lunar missions, but may also be directly leveraged into other mobility applications requiring light-weight and low rolling resistance," said Stafford. "It's an exciting advance for mobility in space and here on Earth."

Funded in part by a grant from NASA's Innovative Partnership Program, the MICHELIN Lunar Wheel will be featured on the Scarab Rover, a lunar robot designed by Carnegie Mellon University, in cooperation with NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program for its In-Situ Resource Utilization project. Equipped with a drill designed to cut through layers of lunar soil, the Scarab Rover is capable of operating in continual darkness and extremely cold temperatures with little power. Michelin has also developed a lunar wheel for the ATHLETE Rover, a six-limbed lunar rover capable of transporting cargo over any terrain to aid NASA in the assembly of the lunar outpost.

"Michelin's team of scientists and engineers worked closely with our design team to create a solution that addresses the unique challenges of lunar exploration," said Jaret B. Matthews, NASA's principal investigator for the development of the MICHELIN Lunar Wheel. "The MICHELIN Lunar Wheel successfully exceeds our initial design targets."

The MICHELIN Lunar Wheel will undergo field-testing on the Scarab Rover in Hawaii from Oct. 31 through Nov. 13, 2008 as part of a NASA Lunar Analogs testing and evaluation event. The terrain, rock distribution and soil materials of Hawaii's Big Island provide high-quality simulation of the lunar polar region.

posted 01-20-2009 01:33 PM               

Michelin Teams With NASA On Lunar Rover for Inaugural Parade

Michelin North America will once again team with NASA to showcase the latest technology for the next generation of moon rover vehicles. NASA astronauts will pilot the Small Pressurized Lunar Rover, which is fitted with a specially engineered MICHELIN TWEEL(R) assembly, during today's inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.

"Michelin and NASA have a long history of successful collaboration. For more than 20 years, Michelin has supplied tires for the space shuttle. Over the past three years, we have also worked with NASA to develop a revolutionary tire/wheel assembly for the next generation of lunar rovers," said David Stafford, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Research Company. "We are pleased that NASA, one of the world's most demanding customers, has selected Michelin to accompany them as millions see this amazing vehicle showcased for the first time."

The Small Pressurized Lunar Rover, NASA's latest lunar rover prototype, will roll from the U.S. Capitol to the White House on the MICHELIN TWEEL(R) non-pneumatic tire/wheel assembly, which was named one of Time magazine's innovations of the year in 2005. As a result of this engineering breakthrough, NASA helped fund a project for Michelin to develop a highly specialized Lunar Wheel for the space agency's latest collection of moon rover vehicles.

Introduced in 2008, the MICHELIN Lunar Wheel withstands extreme conditions while maintaining flexibility and constant ground contact pressure that enables moon rovers to traverse loose soil and lunar craters. It also has a low mass yet maintains a high load capacity that is 3.3 times more efficient than the original Apollo Lunar Rover wheels.

"Field data taken last November demonstrated that the MICHELIN Lunar Wheel provides a 50 percent improvement in rolling efficiency over loose soil, compared to a traditional inflated tire," said Dr. Rob Ambrose, Surface Mobility Lead for NASA's Lunar Architecture Team. "Michelin met or exceeded our targets in analog lunar testing."

Designed to provide astronauts with mobility over extreme terrain, the Small Pressurized Lunar Rover features 12 wheels driven by two electric motors through a two-speed transmission, allowing it to perform in "bulldozer" mode with up to 4000 pounds of force or cruise at up to 20 kilometers per hour. The modular design also means that the tubular frame can be fitted with several different crew and payload combinations, including the crew cabin that attaches to the rover's chassis to form the Small Pressurized Lunar Rover configuration.

In addition to engineering wheels for the Small Pressurized Lunar Rover, Michelin has developed Lunar Wheels for NASA's ATHLETE moon rover designed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as for the Scarab moon rover. Both are unmanned lunar vehicles designed to perform various tasks on the moon.