Bridgestone’s Two New Lunar Rover Tire Prototypes Use Thin Metal Spokes Instead of Air-Filled Rubber

Bridgestone is getting ready to unveil two new prototypes of their second-generation lunar rover tires at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) booth during the 40th Space Symposium. These tires are designed for small and medium-sized rovers, and they’re lighter than the ones they revealed last year. The updates are all about making them work better on the Moon, where it’s super hot or cold, there’s no air, and the ground is covered in fine, scratchy dust called regolith.

What’s different from last year? Bridgestone isn’t spilling all the tech secrets in their announcements ahead of the event, but we know they’re building on their “AirFree” idea, which uses thin metal spokes instead of air-filled rubber. This was a highlight of the first-generation tires, inspired by camel footpads for better traction on loose regolith. The new ones probably tweak this—like maybe thinner or bendier spokes, or a new pattern on the tire to make them lighter but still tough and grippy. They’ve also hinted at using computer models to perfect the design, so you might hear some talk about that at the event.

Here’s another clue about the new design: Bridgestone teamed up with Astrobotic Technology in October 2024, and that might connect to this. They’re working together on tires for Astrobotic’s 24U CubeRover, a rover about the size of a stove with big plans for Moon trips. It’s not 100% sure these tires are for that rover, but the timing lines up. The symposium might give more hints about how this teamwork affects the tires—maybe a little show or a mention during the April 9 talk with Toyota, Idemitsu Kosan, and the Space Foundation.