Michelin and Northrop Grumman partner to equip future lunar vehicle with airless tires

Colombes, France – An airless tire to equip the future lunar vehicle: this is the new challenge taken on by Michelin, in conjunction with the team formed by Northrop Grumman, within the framework of a tender from NASA last November. A model of the future lunar vehicle was revealed to the general public for the first time at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas this past January.

A tire capable of resisting the extreme conditions at the lunar pole in order to make it easier to explore the lunar surface and allow a sustainable presence on the moon in 2025, and ultimately on Mars: this is the aim of the Michelin R&D teams.

The model of the prototype airless lunar tire, fitted to the lunar vehicle, will be on show at the Northrop Grumman head office (Falls Church, Virginia, USA).

The Artemis program developed by Nasa plans to send one man and one woman to the Moon in 2025. The two astronauts will travel around in a new lunar vehicle, looking for a site suitable for setting up a base. In fact, the American space agency plans to build a base camp in this area, which will have a large amount of water ice.

Participating in this adventure and accompanying these exploration works are in line with Michelin’s purpose and with its passion for mobility. For the Group, this is in fact an opportunity to acquire new knowledge in terms of mobility solutions and further stimulate Michelin’s unique capacities for innovation. In order to design an airless tire solution suited to the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle), in addition to its experience acquired during previous collaborations with NASA, Michelin will rely on its expertise in high-technology materials and on the know-how acquired in the development of airless solutions for extreme applications.