An Origami-inspired Habitat Project for the Moon and Mars

Space research is taking inspiration from Japanese paper-folding: a team of artists and scientists, including astrophysicist Bernard Foing (from the European Space Agency), has developed a project consisting of origami structures designed to go on the Moon and Mars. This art, which rose to popularity around the 17th century in Japan, offers many interesting characteristics for space research.

These light and flexible ‘origami tents’, made from highly resistant material, can be folded and unfolded over and over again according to the characteristics of their environment. They keep those inside safe, protecting them from the impact of micrometeorites (which bounce on their many edges), while the built-in solar panels on the surface provide the necessary energy to fuel their stay. A further advantage is the fact that they restrict the amount of space junk by being able to be used again and again, their multiple sides allowing them to be ‘reinvented’ for each new space mission.

This project inspired by a Japanese tradition is only at the prototype stage, but it’s a perfectly serious idea. In June 2019, one of these ‘origami habitats’ will be tested on a demonstration igloo built by the Swiss Space Centre under the Matterhorn Glacier in Switzerland. After that, who knows: perhaps it will one day be seen on the icy surface of Mars.