NASA Seeks Inventors: Reinventing Space Technology
- NASA is seeking innovative wheel designs for future lunar rovers, offering a total of $155,000 in prizes through a three-phase challenge.
- NASA announced on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, a new challenge focused on designing the next generation of wheels for lunar rovers.
- NASA is looking for innovators to design a wheel that can take us back to the Moon!
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NASA Launches $155,000 Challenge to Reinvent the Lunar Wheel
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NASA is seeking innovative wheel designs for future lunar rovers, offering a total of $155,000 in prizes through a three-phase challenge. The competition aims to develop a wheel that is lightweight, durable, and capable of carrying ample cargo across challenging lunar terrain.
Published September 3, 2025
The Challenge: A New Wheel for Lunar Exploration
NASA announced on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, a new challenge focused on designing the next generation of wheels for lunar rovers. The agency is looking for designs that can overcome the limitations of current wheel technology,specifically addressing the need for a wheel that is both lightweight and capable of handling the rigors of the lunar surface,including carrying heavy payloads at high speeds.
NASA is looking for innovators to design a wheel that can take us back to the Moon! 🚀
The Lunar Wheel Challenge is a 3-phase competition with $155K in total prizes. 💰
Phase 1 is open now! ➡️ https://www.nasa.gov/challenges/lunar-wheel-challenge #LunarWheelChallenge pic.twitter.com/wJqJq9qJqG
– Elysia Segal (@elysiasegal) september 3, 2025
According to NASA, the ideal wheel design should be “lightweight, compliant [flexible], and stay tough at higher speeds while carrying lots of cargo.” This presents a significant engineering challenge, requiring a balance of materials, structural integrity, and performance characteristics.
Challenge Phases and Prizes
The lunar Wheel Challenge is structured in three distinct phases:
- Phase 1: Focuses on concept advancement and analysis. The best concepts will be rewarded. Enrollment for phase one closes on November 4, 2025.
- Phase 2: Provides funding for selected teams to build and test prototypes.
- Phase 3: The final phase involves rigorous testing of the best wheel designs on a live obstacle course at NASA’s Johnson Space center in Houston, Texas, simulating the challenging conditions of the lunar surface.
A total of $155,000 in prize money will be awarded across all phases of the competition.
The Importance of Wheel Design for Lunar Rovers
Wheel design is a critical component of any rover intended for operation on the Moon. The lunar surface presents unique challenges, including: