Goodyear Is Developing New Tires for the Moon

The company is designing tires for Lockheed Martin's upcoming lunar vehicle.

Goodyear is going extraterrestrial.

The company has announced(Opens in a new window) that it's designing tires for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) that Lockheed Martin is developing(Opens in a new window) to support NASA's upcoming Artemis(Opens in a new window) missions to the moon. (General Motors is also collaborating with Lockheed Martin on the vehicle's design, per the company's May 2021 announcement, and others will probably lend their expertise as well.)

"Goodyear is drawing from its advanced airless tire technology used on Earth with micro-mobility, autonomous shuttles, and passenger vehicles, to advance lunar mobility and withstand the challenging conditions on the Moon," Goodyear says. "The companies are already applying existing expertise to the project including testing concepts in lunar soil test beds."

The company explains that NASA's existing lunar rovers "were purposely built for just a few days of use on excursions within five miles of their landing sites." Now it's up to Goodyear, Lockheed Martin, and General Motors to design an LTV that can "traverse rugged terrain over much longer distances while operating in greater temperature extremes" in upcoming Artemis missions.

Lockheed Martin and General Motors will focus on the LTV's overall design. Goodyear will focus on its area of expertise: tires. "New tire capabilities will need to be developed for years of durability," the company says, "and even survive the night that sees temperatures of below -250 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime temps of over 250 degrees Fahrenheit."

But work on these tires won't just benefit NASA.

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