Goodyear is working on developing some specialized tires for use on the moon. They will be able to survive extremely high temperatures, will be able to navigate tough terrain, and will, of course, continue to function despite the absence of gravity. Since the beginning of their collaboration more than 60 years ago, the American tire company has supplied the United States Space Agency with tires for a variety of lunar missions, including Apollo 11.
The corporation has even more ambitious intentions this time around as a result of its collaboration with Lockheed Martin, a United States-based aerospace and defense contractor, to design the real vehicles as well. The vehicles in question are several versions of what NASA refers to as Lunar Roving Vehicles (LRV).
These lightweight, battery-operated vehicles weigh 210 kilograms but are designed to carry a maximum payload that is significantly greater than their mass. They are created with a pragmatic, form-follows-function approach in mind since it is the best way to accomplish the very precise objective that they are intended to fulfill. To be more specific, what does that imply?
To begin, the LRV tires, much like the LRVs themselves, are constructed to achieve the highest possible levels of both performance and durability. And achieving that is an extraordinarily difficult mix. Since Apollo 11 in July 1969, a total of six different missions have successfully landed humans on the Moon.
The new moon rovers will have a very distinctive appearance in comparison to the ones that we are accustomed to seeing. Having said that, there will still be a lot of similarities nonetheless. Moon rovers are typically only used for a few days at a time, and their journeys never exceed six to eight miles in length.
The most difficult aspect of this project for Goodyear is the necessity of producing the tires now, with the knowledge that they will have to perform at their very best when the Moon rover is put into action. Because they need to function at temperatures as low as -156 degrees Celsius at night and as high as 121 degrees Celsius during the day, the tires are strong and durable, yet flexible.
That translates to -248 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and 249 degrees Fahrenheit (F), respectively, in Fahrenheit. When exactly is NASA planning to send another spacecraft to the moon? Well, soon. The launch of the Artemis l, an uncrewed Lunar orbital test flight, is slated for August 29 and it is going to last between 26 and 42 days.