ispace and Bridgestone Sign Agreement to Develop Tires for Small-to-Medium-Sized Lunar Rovers

Tokyo–July 31, 2025–ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bridgestone Corporation, which is  researching development of tires for lunar rovers, to advance the practical application of the tires.

Based on this agreement, ispace will collaborate with Bridgestone to enhance the performance of its small and medium-sized lunar rovers by equipping them with Bridgestone’s tires. ispace is currently developing prototypes of the rovers, featuring lunar surface exploration capabilities including high-resolution video and data-capture functions, as well as a design that prioritizes functionality, despite their compact size, for use in lunar water resource utilization.

As part of the agreement, ispace will install Bridgestone’s soft, elastic lunar rover tires on its prototypes and conduct ground-based evaluation and verification tests to assess the feasibility and business potential of future lunar surface technical demonstrations. Through these initiatives, both companies will assess the feasibility of the technologies and business opportunities on the lunar surface and aim for the practical application of these tires as early as 2029.

ispace and Bridgestone will further pursue collaboration through this initiative with the aim to contribute to the advancement of Japan’s space industry, considering potential utilization of the Space Strategy Fund established by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).