Japanese company ispace has announced an agreement with Bridgestone. The aim is to develop soft, elastic tires for lunar rovers.
In 2023 and 2025, ispace launched two spacecraft to the Moon, but due to technical problems, both crashed during landing. However, despite these setbacks, the company has no intention of giving up. Its immediate plans include the launch of a new mission, currently scheduled for 2026. In the future, ispace intends to expand its space activities and engage in more ambitious projects such as mining helium-3 on the Moon.
ispace’s lunar plans also involve the use of rovers. The company is currently developing prototypes of such devices designed to explore the lunar surface.
The purpose of the agreement concluded with Bridgestone is to create soft, elastic tires for them. They will have a thin metal spoke design, which will ensure flexible deformation while maintaining strength. This design will give the rover excellent mobility and shock absorption, allowing it to move across the lunar surface and overcome obstacles such as lunar rocks.
The tires developed by Bridgestone will be installed on prototype rovers. After that, ispace will conduct a series of ground tests to assess their potential. In its statement, the company expressed hope that the mission, in which they will be used, will be launched to the Moon as early as 2029.
It is worth noting that Bridgestone has been researching and developing tires for driving on the lunar surface since 2019. In April this year, the company unveiled lightweight concept models for small and medium-sized lunar rovers.
According to ispace
