Goodyear and NASA have received an R&D 100 (aka the “Oscars of Innovation”) award for their Spring Tire, a space tire that will never puncture, get frazzled by cosmic rays or otherwise ruin a perfectly good Moon or Mars mission. The Spring Tire is, as you may already have guessed, made of springs. 800 interlocking, load bearing springs, to be precise. Unlike the Goodyear-developed wire tires on the original Lunar Rover, the new Spring Tires can carry heavier loads, and carry them further. The springs deform to the shape of the terrain, providing better grip, and return the energy of each bump when they spring back into shape.
