NASA Crowdsourced Competition Yields Five Innovative Lunar Rover Wheel Designs
NASA’s Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge selected five teams from a global pool to test novel lunar rover wheels on a 45-kg test rover at Johnson Space Center.
The Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge invited public innovators to create next-generation wheels for lunar rovers, receiving 128 submissions from 49 countries. Five teams progressed to a hands-on test on July 31, where their prototypes were installed on the 45-kilogram MicroChariot rover and run through a series of courses at Johnson Space Center’s Rock Yard. The finalists presented diverse approaches: Hellenic Technology of Robotics SA’s variable-flex wheel, Hyperbola’s cable-tensioned design, Huff Helo Inc.’s titanium sheet wheel, the Payne Aviation pneumatic-historical tire, and the winning Scotch Pad Tyres concept by Daniel and Isaac Bloomfield featuring a Nomex structure and epoxy-coated grit surface.
Judges emphasized that crowdsourcing expands the pool of wheel technologies, offering options for different lunar terrains, speeds, and loads. Future testing may expose the wheels to lunar-like dust, vacuum, and extreme temperatures in thermal-vacuum chambers to further assess suitability for long-duration Moon surface operations.
Why it matters
Advancing wheel technology is essential for reliable mobility on the Moon, enabling broader exploration and infrastructure development.
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