MTSU Experimental Vehicles Program lunar rover team members hope a new airless tire design and parts assembly will lead to a ‘wheel of fortune’ at this year’s NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Because of new competition rules regarding tires, recent MTSU graduate Thomas Kenney’s design and the machine shop work by junior mechatronics engineering major Kelly Maynard and others may keep the MTSU engineering technology entry among the elite in the international field competing in Huntsville, Alabama, Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, after a best-in-U.S. finish in 2015. Here’s how they fared in Day 1 competition: