AKRON, Ohio — Goodyear is supporting NASA’s Artemis program by developing tires for a lunar terrain vehicle.
The Akron-based company is supplying tires for Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle, which will support astronaut missions on the moon beginning in 2028.
John Kantura, senior program manager of mobility architecture at Goodyear, said the tires are made to withstand the moon’s harsh, inhospitable surface.
“It has to be able to operate in very loose terrain,” Kantura said. “Think of it as almost a sandy type surface, but also obstacles, rocks and other terrain to climb up and down as it explores.”
Goodyear tires first left tread marks on the moon during the Apollo mission. Kantura said the Apollo-era tires looked more conventional.
“That one actually had nitrogen in it,” Kantura said.
The tires that will be used for Pegasus don’t require any gas. Instead, the tires are hollow and made of a mesh metal material.
Kantura said the tires were developed with the Artemis mission goals in mind.
According to NASA, the goal of the Artemis program is to “establish a sustained, long-term human presence on the Moon to enable scientific discovery, spur economic growth, and serve as a stepping stone for the first crewed missions to Mars.”
Pegasus’ development, which is led by Lunar Outpost, is supported by Goodyear, Leidos and General Motors.