NASA developed tires with memory foam for the new Rover

Date:

2017-11-27 21:00:11

Views:

3845

Rating:

1Like 0Dislike

Share:

NASA developed tires with memory foam for the new Rover Source:

During his five-year stay on the red planet and the Curiosity Rover has done a tremendous research work and made many interesting scientific discoveries. And during all this time, the Autonomous Mars science laboratory, of course, had to ride on the surface of our planetary neighbor. However, in 2013, during a routine check of the management team "Curiosity" has been very surprised by the fact that all six wheels of the Rover have various injuries, including such as in the image below.

Realizing that the next Mars Rover, which is going to send to the Red planet by the mid 2020-ies, can expect similar problems, a team of engineers from the research center Glenn (NASA) decided to develop a new type of wheels.

To Start with, the design of the new wheels based on an earlier prototype Spring Tire – airless tire developed by Goodyear in cooperation with NASA in the mid 2000-ies. Interestingly, the original version of these airless tires first appeared even earlier – in the bearded ' 70s and again in the result of cooperation between Goodyear and NASA. However, in the new tires instead of using the spring-wire design used in the original models, the team at NASA decided to use a more durable and flexible construction.

The Moon, Mars and other planets in the Solar system have a very unfriendly, harsh landscape. In the case of the moon the main problem posed by the regolith that covers virtually the entire surface of the satellite. This fine dust is a residual soil, being a product of space weathering of rocks and can easily damage the mechanical parts of the vehicle. On Mars the situation is hardly easier: there is a large part of the surface are covered with regolith, but also small sharp rocks that can easily cut through even iron.

In 2013, after just one year of activity on the surface of Mars, wheels "Curiosity" began to show signs of serious wear. This situation has worried scientists, who began to doubt that the Rover will be able to complete their planned mission. As a result, it has also led to the fact that the research center Glenn decided to revise the design of the tyres, whose development had been conducted for almost a decade. The tire was developed with the prospect of a return to the moon program.

Development of new space for the tire research center Glenn actually was one of the priorities of the last ten years. In this regard, the engineers and NASA scientists returned several times to thinking, which has remained since the era of space missions "Apollo". At that time in the development of American and Soviet space programs were developed several variants of tyres destined for use on the lunar surface. Center Glenn chose as the basis of three options.

First used in the Soviet "Lunokhod". In his vosmiklasnica database was used of metal tires, combined with the axis through a plurality of spokes. On the outside of the tire there was a metal protector, designed to provide tighter coupling with the lunar soil.

For consideration also were the tires used in special car Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET), which was used by the astronauts for transport of lunar soil samples in one of the missions "Apollo". The development of tires for it, too, was conducted in conjunction with the company Goodyear. The pimp was non-motorized, and the astronauts had to make considerable physical effort to transport. However, her bus had a smooth rubberized surface, which is somewhat simplified, it's moved over the ground and rocks.

The Third design of the tire to which it was decided to apply, was used in the so-called Lunar Rover that was used by astronauts mission "Apollo-15, Apollo-16 and Apollo-17". This manned vehicle is used four large wheels with durable inner frame and a protector in the form of a flexible wire mesh structure. In the mid 2000's, when NASA started preparing for a possible new lunar missions (with the prospect of future missions to Mars), the engineers decided to revise the design of the tyres of the Lunar vehicle, incorporating new technologies and using new and more durable materials. As a result, the light appeared the same tires Spring Tire. Tread airless tire is composed of many interconnected metal rings (in the mail), making it both durable and flexible. This design not only can reduce weight, but showed a high capacity even in conditions of movement on the harsh surface.

To verify the behavior of the tire Spring Tire on the surface of Mars, engineers from the Research center Glenn began conducting tests on a special testing ground, designed to simulate surface conditions. Despite the fact that, in General, the bus showed themselves worthy in driving on simulated Martian soil, they are faced with a serious problem – the jagged rocks, which moved the test sample, began not only to deform the tire, but in the literal sense to separate them.

In the end, the engineers again went to work. The solution was the use of hyperelastic tire, which is a continuation of "spring" tires Spring Tire. The new tire uses a special alloy of Nickel-titanium also known as nitinol. This material is the leader among the alloys with shape memory effect. He is able to fully recover after 10% deformation. In the same Spring tires Tire, this figure is only 0.3-0.5 percent.

In addition, an advantage of tires from nitinol is light weight (at the same experimental prototype, it is only nine kilograms), the possibility of adjusting the level of adhesion to any surface and high damping properties. The tires with memory effect also increased and the increased flexibility that, in General, should have a positive impact on their durability.

"first, these tires will allow you to conduct research on more diverse types of surfaces. Secondly, as they are easier and generally able to adapt to a particular type of surface, they allow you to dig into the ground hard and heavy wheels, and is able to cope with heavier loads. In addition, as well as a tire with shape memory effect are able to absorb energy from impact of the ground at different speeds, they can be used on managed vehicles whose anticipated rate is substantially higher than the current Rovers", — noted on the website of the Research center Glenn.

The Use of hyperelastic tire need not be limited only to the space program. Now among the potential areas are the subject of tyres for passenger cars and SUVs, military, agricultural and aircraft equipment. The developers have already installed the experimental tire on the SUV Jeep Wrangler and have experienced her work in real conditions.

As for the first actual use of such tires, such opportunity will be in the next years, when NASA sends to the red planet next Mars Rover. If all goes according to plan, it will be somewhere in 2020. The new Rover would be designed to replace the "Curiosity" in his mission to search for signs of life on Mars. In addition, the Rover will seek to collect samples of Martian soil that you plan to return to Earth in the framework of the manned mission, which is to take place somewhere in the 2030-ies.

...

Recommended

The Americans on the moon: what everyone should know?

The Americans on the moon: what everyone should know?

the Upcoming cosmonautics day is my favorite holiday. It marks the triumph of the human mind: in just four thousand years Homo Sapiens went from hunter-gatherers to space explorers. 12 April 1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in ...

Why are some galaxies spiral shaped?

Why are some galaxies spiral shaped?

you Know what surprised me the most? The fact that we perceive the surrounding world as it is. Animals, plants, the laws of physics and the cosmos are perceived by many people as something so mundane and boring that they invent fairies, ghosts, monst...

Astronomers were able to see the death of another star system

Astronomers were able to see the death of another star system

In the cosmic ocean drifts a lot of mysteries about the existence of which we are unaware. One of these was uncovered five years ago, when astronomers have discovered a lonely star at a distance of 570 light years from Earth, the brightness of which ...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

The ISS found extraterrestrial life

The ISS found extraterrestrial life

On the surface of the Russian segment of the International space station (ISS) was found live bacteria arrived from space, reports TASS the words of Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. Currently they are studied on Earth and is li...

The Japanese will go to the moon in exchange for their technology

The Japanese will go to the moon in exchange for their technology

the fact that Japan plans to send its astronauts on the moon, said earlier that representatives of various space agencies discussed the possibility of joint construction of the base in orbit of Earth's natural satellite, but then ...

Telescope

Telescope "James Webb" passed cryogenic testing at -233 degrees Celsius

In the Space center Johnson (Texas, USA) completed cryogenic testing of an orbital telescope "James Webb". As the portal Space.com within 90 days the unit was in a closed vacuum cryogenic chamber with a constant temperature of -23...

The participants of the experiment, lunar SIRIUS 17 days

The participants of the experiment, lunar SIRIUS 17 days "returned to Earth"

Not all the astronauts are going in the future to go to Mars and establish colonies there. Some, for example, plan to fly to the moon and this too thoroughly prepared. Yesterday ended the simulating flight to the moon the SIRIUS e...

Toyota showed a humanoid robot for space exploration

Toyota showed a humanoid robot for space exploration

the Japanese company Toyota is known to many as one of the world's largest automakers, but actually in the interests of the Corporation includes not only the production of cars. For example, recently the residents of the Country o...

In Russia passed the first test of Martian lander

In Russia passed the first test of Martian lander

In the framework of Russian-European space mission ExoMars, scheduled for the next 3-5 years, it's been a lot of tests in preparation for scale flight. And perhaps one of the most important experiments was a few days ago. In the A...

Why people should not colonize Mars: opinions of experts

Why people should not colonize Mars: opinions of experts

Elon Musk wants to bring humans to Mars. Professor Stephen Hawking can't wait to see when we find a new planet that will be able to call your new home. Space Agency NASA is developing an engine that would be able to afford to do i...

Latest discovery on the moon increases the chances of creating a lunar base, experts say

Latest discovery on the moon increases the chances of creating a lunar base, experts say

In October this year, the Japanese satellite Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selenological and technological research apparatus, or SELEN), also known as "Kaguya", on the moon. A space width of 100 meters and a length of 5...

Artificial intelligence is the ideal tool for the study of the Universe

Artificial intelligence is the ideal tool for the study of the Universe

In an attempt to understand the Universe we become obsessed — we are tempted by lust of the observations. The satellites transmit hundreds of terabytes of information every year, and only one telescope in Chile will produce 15 ter...

"The first space nation" put its own satellite into orbit

in the framework of the space mission supply Cygnus CRS OA-8E to the International space station to orbit the Earth was launched the satellite "Asgardia-1". If you are "asgardian", you can mark the date November 12 as the date to ...

If we can settle the life on outer space?

If we can settle the life on outer space?

the galaxy's billions of worlds like ours. Do we need to send them the germ of life, to settle her throughout the cosmos? Claudius Gros Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, believes that it is necessary. For this, he proposes ...

Colonize or die out: why do we need Mars?

Colonize or die out: why do we need Mars?

Some believe that we will stay on Earth — people will cease to exist. In an article published in June, Elon Musk has warned of the inevitability of space: life on Earth will disappear if we will not mnogoletnim. There are tw...

Whether NASA will allow SpaceX to fly to ISS on a used missiles?

Whether NASA will allow SpaceX to fly to ISS on a used missiles?

Following mission, in which the Dragon spacecraft will fly to the ISS could take place using already flown booster reports . Now the idea is in the process of coordination with NASA and likely to be approved by management. that ...

The ground crew of the

The ground crew of the "spacecraft" SIRIUS "flew" to the moon orbit

Not long ago the experiment was started. In the framework of flight simulation to the moon was created «space ship» SIRIUS (International Scientific Research in Unique Terrestrial Station). This international project has...

10 mysteries of space-time, which will be able to solve quantum gravity

10 mysteries of space-time, which will be able to solve quantum gravity

the General theory of relativity, in which gravity is born due to the curvature of space-time, wonderful. It was confirmed with an incredible level of precision, in some cases up to fifteen decimal places. One of the most interest...

10 things that happen to you and your body in space

10 things that happen to you and your body in space

With each passing day it becomes increasingly clear that sooner or later a new space race will lead to the fact that humanity will leave the same Earth-mother. Whether we want it or not, space travel will become an integral part o...

Aliens can look like us externally and internally due to natural selection

Aliens can look like us externally and internally due to natural selection

How to look for extraterrestrial life? This question is trying to answer a variety of astrobiologists, writers and artists, ultimately bringing to our world the images of Vulcans and Klingons and other exotic forms that are not li...

Ocean of Enceladus may be sufficiently ancient that it was life

Ocean of Enceladus may be sufficiently ancient that it was life

recently we said goodbye with the spacecraft "Cassini", which after 13 years of loyal service to orbit Saturn and its satellites dropped right in the deep atmosphere of the giant planet. The reason this Grand final was a warning o...

Discovered a very unusual supernova that exploded twice

Discovered a very unusual supernova that exploded twice

usually, when a star enters a phase of a supernova, it is a blast... in fact, it is the end. However, the new discovery astronomers can force us to revise our understanding of how stars die. Scientists have discovered a star that ...

Experimental SpaceX rocket engine blew up in Texas

Experimental SpaceX rocket engine blew up in Texas

Merlin Rocket engine of new generation, produced by the company , exploded during tests on one of the test sites in Texas. According to the official statement of the company, at the time of this incident nobody suffered. The explo...