The Mars Curiosity Rover's wheels are as thin as credit cards

Brian McManus looks at the engineering challenges behind the Curiosity's thin aluminum wheels, which are sustaining significant damage on the Martian surface.

The damage has prompted NASA to commission new wheel options. One of the most promising is a spring tire made of nitinol, similar to the ones Goodyear developed for the lunr rover, but much more lightweight despite better load-bearing properties.

• How NASA Reinvented The Wheel - Shape Memory Alloys (YouTube / Real Engineering)

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