The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation’s (Toyota) international space exploration mission includes expanding the domain of human activity and developing intellectual property on space exploration.
Bridgestone Corporation will be a part of this mission with JAXA and Toyota, and will researching the performance needs of tyres for use on manned, pressurized rovers for better contact with the surface of the moon. Bridgestone builds on a joint research partnership with JAXA from the 2000s to examine the contact patch between rovers and the lunar surface, and serves as a technical partner for the Toyota rover project.
Bridgestone’s expertise and knowledge of tyre contact patch will help explore the mobility challenges faced on the lunar surface – the development of an Elastic Wheel supports the rover’s weight, acceleration and braking, minimises shock absorbance, and improves maneuverability, thus enabling the rover to cruise over the required 10,000 km on the lunar surface to accomplish the mission.
The company is committed to developing a functioning contact patch for this international space mission that is suitable to the challenging mobility conditions experienced on the lunar surface of the moon.
Nizar Trigui, CTO of Bridgestone Americas, has said: “We are honored to partner with JAXA and Toyota in the challenge of space exploration as Bridgestone’s technical capabilities allow for the development of a tyre that is capable of functioning in the harshest conditions on the surface of the moon, and brings a higher level of mobility for mankind. Bridgestone’s founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, believed in contributing to the advancement and development of society, and Bridgestone fulfills that belief through Creative Pioneering (Shinshu-Dokuso), enabling the company to develop innovative solutions with an eye towards the future. This mission is a testament of Bridgestone’s commitment to improving the way people move, live, work and play.”