{"id":642545,"date":"2026-08-17T22:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T22:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/642545\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T22:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T22:40:24","slug":"nasa-challenge-tests-wheel-designs-for-moon-base-mobility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/642545\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Challenge Tests Wheel Designs for Moon Base Mobility"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As NASA prepares to\u00a0establish\u00a0the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/moonbase\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Moon Base<\/a>,\u00a0advancing surface mobility will be key to helping crews and robotic systems travel farther across\u00a0the lunar surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To help advance that capability, the\u00a0Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge invited\u00a0public\u00a0innovators\u00a0to design and build next-generation lunar rover wheels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five teams from 128 submissions and 49 countries advanced to the final phase of the competition, where they tested their prototypes\u00a0on July 31\u00a0at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenge\u00a0sought\u00a0lightweight, durable, and scalable wheels that could support longer-duration lunar surface operations. The designs also needed to be compliant enough to absorb impacts,\u00a0maintain\u00a0traction at higher speeds, and withstand the harsh lunar environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery additional kilometer a rover can reliably travel\u00a0will\u00a0expand\u00a0how far we can explore, what science\u00a0we\u00a0can\u00a0achieve, and what infrastructure\u00a0we\u00a0can build,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Ed\u00a0Herrera,\u00a0robotics\u00a0engineer\u00a0at Johnson\u00a0and co-leader\u00a0of the challenge project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NASA\u00a0Johnson\u00a0uses ground prototypes to test mobility technologies, while lunar terrain vehicles will be delivered to the lunar surface through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/commercial-lunar-payload-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a>\u00a0initiative.\u00a0For the challenge, the wheels were fitted to\u00a0MicroChariot,\u00a0a\u00a045-kilogram test rover,\u00a0and\u00a0put through a series of courses at Johnson\u2019s Rock Yard to evaluate their performance across\u00a0different types\u00a0of terrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCrowdsourcing gives us an opportunity to look beyond traditional approaches\u00a0for\u00a0lunar wheel design,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cThe 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\u00a0and Mars.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those ideas were reflected in five distinctly\u00a0different designs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The HTR Variable Flex Lunar Wheel\u00a0created\u00a0by\u00a0Hellenic Technology of Robotics SA\u00a0uses an internal system designed\u00a0to\u00a0vary the wheel\u2019s stiffness depending on terrain and vehicle needs. The team adapted technology it had been developing for terrestrial wheels for about a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0Hiper\u00a0Wheel\u00a0created\u00a0by\u00a0Hyperbola\u00a0uses tensioned cables and a\u00a0corigated\u00a0structure that provides spring-like behavior, allowing the wheel to flex without relying on traditional radial spokes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Huff Helo Flexible Titanium Wheel\u00a0created\u00a0by\u00a0Huff Helo Inc.\u00a0uses formed titanium sheet metal as both structure and spring. During testing, the team found that the strength of the design also made the wheel more rigid, causing it to bounce over some obstacles rather than conform to the terrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Payne Aviation Wheel\u00a0created\u00a0by\u00a0Deborah and Craige Payne\u00a0took inspiration from aviation and history. Its designer,\u00a0an aircraft\u00a0mechanic, combined a pneumatic approach with ideas from early automobile tire designs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The winning Scotch Pad\u00a0Tyres\u00a0concept\u00a0came from an Australian mechanical engineer\u00a0Daniel Bloomfield\u00a0and his son\u00a0Isaac Bloomfield.\u00a0Their\u00a0prototype uses a\u00a0Nomex-based tire structure supported around an aluminum hub. The soft material allows the tire to deform around terrain, while internal support helps it\u00a0maintain\u00a0its shape. A\u00a0treated outer surface\u00a0of epoxy and\u00a0corundum grit\u00a0was\u00a0integrated\u00a0to improve traction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rock Yard testing also\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0why\u00a0different terrains\u00a0may require different approaches. Loose material can affect traction, while rocks and slopes place different demands on\u00a0wheels\u00a0such as\u00a0vehicle stability.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As lunar exploration expands, different vehicles will require different combinations of speed, load capacity, durability, and terrain performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seeking\u00a0that\u00a0variety was part of the challenge\u00a0design. The design options gave engineers different technologies to consider and potentially advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis challenge brought in new ideas from outside traditional\u00a0industries\u00a0and helped us identify wheel\u00a0technologies\u00a0that may be suitable\u00a0for longer-duration surface operations,\u201d\u00a0said Lucien\u00a0Junkin,\u00a0robotics\u00a0engineer at\u00a0Johnson\u00a0and co-leader\u00a0of the challenge project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0next phase\u00a0could evaluate how the wheels\u00a0respond to lunar-like dust, vacuum, and extreme temperatures in Johnson\u2019s thermal vacuum chambers. Engineers could also assess the designs over longer distances and at\u00a0different sizes\u00a0and loads.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMobility is key to everything we want to do on the Moon,\u201d Junkin said. \u201cThe farther we want to explore, the more we need to advance the wheel technologies that can get us there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0Common Robotics\u00a0Project of the\u00a0Robotic Systems Technology Branch\u00a0within\u00a0Johnson\u2019s Engineering Directorate\u00a0conducted\u00a0the Rock and Roll\u00a0with NASA\u00a0Challenge.\u00a0NASA\u2019s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, managed\u00a0the challenge contract.\u00a0Students in\u00a0NASA\u2019s Robotics Academy helped prepare hardware and support the\u00a0competition, while engineers from NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland supported reviews of concepts and proposals.\u00a0HeroX\u00a0administered\u00a0the challenge on behalf of NASA.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As NASA prepares to\u00a0establish\u00a0the\u00a0Moon Base,\u00a0advancing surface mobility will be key to helping crews and robotic systems travel farther&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[8718,101659,8716,18,19,17,7875,8715,133,451,8702],"class_list":["post-642545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-and-crowdsourcing-program","tag-center-of-excellence-for-collaborative-innovation-coeci","tag-challenges","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-johnson-space-center","tag-prizes","tag-science","tag-space","tag-space-technology-mission-directorate"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117113259600694993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}