Demonstrating Lunar Tire Technology Readiness (Lunar Tire - ACO)

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab), proposes to demonstrate the capabilities of the “The Venturi Tire,” a new roving vehicle tire specifically designed to operate in lunar environments. The Venturi Tire is the first off planet tire designed specifically for wide commercial use in support of a thriving lunar economy. It is designed to withstand the full range of lunar surface temperatures and operate for 1,000s of km in lunar regolith. The venturi tire utilizes temperature-tolerant materials and a thermally insulating band to maintain its flexibility and performance despite a wide range of lunar surface temperatures. For ultra-low temperatures in permanently shadowed regions, it uses a low-power tire heating system. For ultra-high temperatures during direct sun exposure, the materials are natively compatible. The Venturi Tire has an external sacrificial tread-band that protects the primary structure from wear, thus enabling its long traverse life. The work would advance the Venturi Tire from technology readiness level (TRL) 4 to TRL 6, making the technology viable for lunar mission engineering. Iterative production of tire prototypes and testing would be carried out to produce evidence that the Venturi Tire can withstand all critical environments associated with a lunar mission. Standard launch vibration and thermal-vacuum testing would be conducted in the private sector outside of this ACO. Heat transfer to cold lunar soil, traction, and life testing are unique to NASA, and would be conducted at Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Glenn Research Center (GRC) as part of this ACO. At the end of the project, Astrolab would produce a report describing the TRL and capabilities of the tire to support future NASA missions.

Significance and benefits: The flexible tire design we propose to test and mature is a foundational, enabling technology that can help unlock expansive lunar-surface infrastructure for the benefit of both commercial and government use of space. An advanced lunar tire such as the Venturi Tire massively increases the amount of work that any rover landed on the Moon can do. Based on its temperature capability, the Venturi Tire can be used to operate rovers for as much as double the number of hours each day, as compared with using the state-of-the-art “Spring Tire”. The durable structure of the Venturi Tire means it can be used for years instead of weeks. As such, the Venturi Tire indirectly opens the door to longer-distance mobility on the lunar surface; survival and operation during lunar night; in-situ resource utilization; and autonomous construction—all examples of the kind of infrastructure NASA is encouraging in support of a robust lunar economy.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.