NASA offers $155,000 to design moon tires(popsci.com)
popsci.com
NASA offers $155,000 to design moon tires
https://www.popsci.com/technology/nasa-lunar-rover-tire-contest/
5 comments
What about solar sintering + induction heating of lunar regolith?
Basalt, Glass,
Molten oxide electrolysis of regolith would yield Oxygen, Silicon, Iron, Aluminum, and Titanium for 3d printing and for solar panels and semiconductors.
Basalt, Glass,
Molten oxide electrolysis of regolith would yield Oxygen, Silicon, Iron, Aluminum, and Titanium for 3d printing and for solar panels and semiconductors.
Is there a sensor for inside of a rover or a vehicle wheel to sample the regolith falling within the wheel before it pours out to self clear?
The tricky part -
> temperatures that regularly swing between -427 and 250 [F]
- while bouncing its way through potholes, over small rocks, etc. When even a "minor" failure might kill astronauts.
Is there a cryometallurgist in the house?
> temperatures that regularly swing between -427 and 250 [F]
- while bouncing its way through potholes, over small rocks, etc. When even a "minor" failure might kill astronauts.
Is there a cryometallurgist in the house?
> 18 inch wheels
It would probably be best to be able to fabricate lunar transport tires on the moon.
Which metals and other carbon-based materials handle temperatures ranging between -427F and 250F? Which of those materials can be fabricated with on the moon?
All-electric fusion induction welding would probably work on the moon (without filler gases).
"Atomic-level engineering enables new alloys that won't break in extreme cold" (2025) https://phys.org/news/2025-09-atomic-enables-alloys-wont-ext... :
"Dual-scale chemical ordering for cryogenic properties in CoNiV-based alloys" (2025) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09458-1