That's incredible that a) it's had that much damage and b) it's still going!
Any estimates on lifespan left of the wheel/tyre?I read an article a while back that said JPL estimates critical wheel damage (14 out of the 19 treads snapping) to occur around 2034. That won't be the end of the rover though, they have a plan. Once damage passes that point of no return, they'll deliberately snap off the inner two thirds of the wheel and keep going on just the stronger outer third. https://spectrum.ieee.org/if-necessary-mars-rover-curiosity-could-rip-its-own-wheels-off-to-stay-mobile
Several years ago they did an engineering study that basically stated that when a specific number of cleats broke it had used up a percentage of its life. We're past that stage now. They have since developed a scenario that will allow them to rip one half of the damaged wheel off, and still drive on the remaining half.... All of the wheels are motorized, losing one wheel won't stop the rover from traversing to it's science waypoints
Other than weight, why isn’t the wheel solid? Seems like a safer bet for a rover, and you don’t have passenger comfort to take into account.
why isn’t the wheel solid?
- Weight is an issue
- The wheels were the rover shock absorbers during landing (by the sky-crane back in 2012)
- Yes, no passenger comfort, but there is an amount of sensitive electronics and instruments to protect.
I have a hard time imagining it's for any reason other than weight.
