Future man-made spacecraft traveling on Mars are likely to use revolutionary new tires similar to those jointly manufactured by NASA and Goodyear. This cage design is designed to withstand impacts and can return to its original shape and continue rolling after deformation.

A test rover equipped with new memory metal alloy tires undergoes simulated Mars terrain testing at the Airbus Mars Site in the UK

While a tire-changing shop on Mars may still be a long way off, NASA is interested in designing tires for the rovers that will roam the Red Planet before humans colonize it. Since the surface of Mars is densely rocky, the tires required for these rovers should be able to absorb the impact of various sharp and rugged rocks without being damaged.

At the Airbus Mars Test Site in the UK, NASA engineers have just tested a strong candidate tire based on a design first announced by Goodyear in 2010 and which has been in development since 2017.

There, they outfitted a rover with shape-memory alloy (SMA) spring tires and let it roam the rocky sand. As NASA materials research engineer Santo Padula explains in the video below, the nickel-titanium alloy is able to rearrange its atomic structure when subjected to external forces and then immediately spring back to its original shape.

NASA said that although SMA has been used before, applying it to tires is a new idea.

During testing at the Mars Yard, researchers collected data on the tire's stability and maneuverability, and also examined the tire's ability to handle various rock impacts. NASA said the tires "met all expectations" during testing. This mesh tire is so flexible that its rim can be dented directly into it and regain its shape during rolling.

Now, the agency will study how the tires can be improved and how titanium-nickel SMA can be used in other space-based applications.

"My goals are to expand the operating temperature capabilities of SMA in applications such as tires and to investigate how these materials can be used to protect habitats," Padula said. "We need new materials suitable for extreme environments that can provide energy absorption for micrometeorite impacts that occur on the moon, to provide habitat structures for the large numbers of astronauts and scientists working on the moon and Mars, etc."