Terrain Regolith Evaluation And Degradation (TREAD) (TREAD)

The proposed Terrain Regolith Evaluation and Degradation (TREAD) project tackles the critical issue of rover wheel and drivetrain degradation in abrasive lunar soil by merging empirical data from a controlled terramechanics testbed with multi-scale simulation tools. The requested Phase I funding will be used to refine a discrete element method–based modeling platform, develop a small suite of advanced wheel materials, and conduct validation tests in the University of Central Florida’s RIDER test facility. By focusing on wear rates, traction, and dust ingress mechanics, this project ensures that next-generation lunar vehicles are equipped for the harsh operational demands of the Moon’s surface. Beyond serving NASA’s Artemis initiative, the technology targets markets where high-fidelity wear predictions offer strong commercial potential: mining, construction, agricultural machinery, and off-road or military vehicles that operate in dusty or sandy terrains. Funding will thus underwrite the design and calibration of a robust predictive engine, enabling engineers in both spaceflight and terrestrial industries to drastically reduce maintenance costs, enhance vehicle reliability, and plan preventative maintenance schedules more effectively. The end goal is to produce a validated tool that mission planners and commercial operators can rely on when forecasting long-term performance of wheeled systems in extremely abrasive environments with 20% less uncertainty than current methods.

NASA’s Artemis program requires vehicles able to sustain decade-long operations on the lunar surface, where unweathered regolith and extreme thermal shifts dramatically accelerate wheel and drivetrain wear. The TREAD project directly supports NASA by advancing a calibrated, physics-based terramechanics model that predicts how rover wheels degrade under these conditions, enabling more accurate mission planning for Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicles and Pressurized Rovers. The same modeling approach can inform future Mars missions, where persistent dust storms and rocky terrain pose analogous challenges to mobility systems. Additionally, this technology can support NASA’s In Situ Resource Utilization efforts, as excavators and transport vehicles will face similar abrasive conditions when mining or constructing habitats using local resources. By quantifying wear thresholds, engineers can schedule spares, optimize drive paths, and strategize how to mitigate failures in vehicles that represent mission-critical infrastructure on planetary surfaces. The result is enhanced hardware reliability and significant risk reduction in manned and robotic surface operations. Cislune is in communication with LTVS providers and rover builders for CLPS missions and will coordinate in Phase I on their needs. Several terrestrial industries stand to benefit from a validated predictive wear model. Mining corporations rely heavily on large, wheeled machines that face continuous abrasion from unrefined ores and rough terrain, making downtime for tire and track replacement a costly reality. Construction companies likewise operate in dusty, abrasive conditions where accurate wear prediction allows for streamlined equipment maintenance and scheduling, reducing lost work hours. For agricultural operations in arid or semi-arid regions, continuous exposure to abrasive sand quickly deteriorates essential machinery, compromising crop yields and operational budgets. Military and off-road vehicle manufacturers must also ensure vehicular readiness in rugged environments, and a data-driven simulation tool can refine vehicle designs to meet varied and often hostile terrain conditions. Beyond these sectors, the rise of autonomous delivery systems, robotic survey vehicles, and renewable energy site maintenance platforms—all of which operate in locations with harsh environmental factors—could similarly adopt these predictive capabilities to maintain consistent uptime. By minimizing repair interventions and optimizing spare-parts management, TREAD-enabled simulations promise broad commercial appeal across multiple off-road markets.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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.