Flat tire in space? Mars rover has damaged wheel

By Dean Murray

Who do you call when you get a flat tyre 33.9 million miles from home?

NASA’s Curiosity rover has shown off dramatic damage received from its 14 years of travels on the Red Planet.

The car-sized vehicle has been exploring the challenging terrain of Mars’ Gale Crater and Mount Sharp since it landed in August 2012.

Visible holes started to appear in its wheels in July 2023, at which point the rover reported on its social media account: "Mars is a rocky place, and my wheels take the brunt of it. But that doesn't stop me from exploring!"

In shocking selfies the rover took on Sol 4844, or March 23, the rocky terrain appears to have taken its toll, with cracks and gaping holes in the wheels.

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But in the absence of a vehicle recovery service, NASA does have a potential backup plan.

The space agency may allow the grousers, or wheel grips, to break away completely, either on their own or by using rocks.

This would allow Curiosity to continue travelling on its rims, albeit with less traction.

A NASA paper from 2021 examined the issue by testing an Earth-based replica of the rover, called Scarecrow.

It reads: "Although Curiosity’s wheels continue to accumulate damage as the rover continues to drive across mixed Martian terrain, an individual wheel can absorb significant damage before it causes any impact to mobility performance.

"Testing in the JPL Mars Yard on the Scarecrow testbed rover indicates that Curiosity could continue to drive indefinitely on the portion of a wheel that remains when all the grousers on a wheel break, if the unconstrained portion of the wheel can be safely shed."