WILL THE NEXT WHEEL DESIGN BE FROM NASA?
NASA has created a wheel design that is quite literally out of this world! Will it eventually trickle down to our road cars?
When NASA designs a wheel, then you know you need to get your hands on a set! Well, maybe not just yet as you'll probably have a hard time finding the right size PCD.
NASA has developed what is possibly the most innovative wheel for their Moon Rover. It has a 0% failure rate, which is good news because the nearest Tiger Wheel & Tyre is at least of 400,000km away.
The NASA wheel isn't made of rubber either, as you might have figured out already. Rubber doesn't do well in those extreme temperatures and will, quite frankly, suck!
So, NASA went to the drawing board and developed a wheel made fully out of mesh and springs that worked in the cold and had a good grip. However, it was susceptible to deformation, but they did not give up there! NASA has now developed a similar design, making use of a shape-memory alloy that fixes the deformation issue.
Will this technology eventually trickle down to road cars? No one knows, but we like to hope so!
Take a look at the video below by YouTube channel, Donut Media, on How NASA Built The Future Wheel.
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel here for more exciting and exclusive SXdrv content! And don't forget to smash that subscribe button!