TRANSCENDENCE OF ORIGAMI INTO OUTER SPACE

Origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, has amused artists, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers worldwide since its emergence in China around the second century. Origami–derived from the Japanese words “oru,” which means to fold, and “kami,” which means paper–is more than a mere practice of paperfolding; it is a physical representation and symbol of patience, intricacy, and the beauty that can emerge from a flat piece of paper. Originally, Origami was used for religious ceremonies and formal events in ancient Japan. Over time, this traditional craft evolved into a well-known pastime and a respected art.

Since the past forty years worldwide and sixty years in Japan, there has been a renaissance in the art of paperfolding, marked by an unprecedented acceleration of its sophistication. Most of the structurally intricate designs of origami have been devised during the last five decades, and most of the complex techniques that lead to those designs have, also, been developed during the latter periods of the twentieth century. Today’s complex creations, exemplified by works like the Hero’s Horse (Maquette) and Allomyrina Dichotoma, Opus 655—both designed and folded by Robert J. Lang, an esteemed American physicist and one of the foremost origami artists and theorists—are composed of several thousand folds and demand tens of hours of unflagging concentration for their completion.

*Picture of Hero’s Horse (Maquette) from Robert J. Lang’s website: langorigami.com

*Picture of Allomyrina Dichotoma, Opus 655 from Robert J. Lang’s website: langorigami.com

Taking advantage of a thin object’s compatible nature when folded, NASA, or specifically NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will launch satellites with origami-designed components. Starshade, a flower-shaped shade that blocks out sunlight while preserving the light emitted by a celestial body, will be used in NASA’s hunt for alien life on exoplanets. Scientists at NASA are optimistic about Starshade’s implications on future missions: “A starshade mission would allow us to directly image Earth-size, rocky exoplanets, which is something we can’t do from the ground,” says Professor Jeremy Kasdin, a Princeton researcher and Principal Investigator of the Starshade project. In addition, Manan Arya, a JPL technologist and developer of Starshade, expresses his awe at the use of origami in space missions; “There’s something wonderful about being able to fold something on a very small scale and have it capture design principles that can be applied to a variety of scales.”

All in all, the charm and glamor of origami lies not only in its elegance and expressiveness, but also in its deep, traditional history, its simple yet intricate nature, and its far-reaching implications that extend beyond this very planet.

Origami Three Dimensional Rose Step-by-Step Instruction

Notes:

Creases represented as black lines.
Square-unit dotted lines indicate valley folds. (folds made towards you)
Circle-unit dotted lines indicate mountain folds. (folds made away from you).
Curved arrows indicate the direction of a fold.
Straight arrows indicate a push fold. (made by pushing the edge of the paper)
This instruction will include, intermittently, a three dimensional diagram.

1. Start with a square paper. The side facing up should be the color that will be hidden in the final form of this fold, and the side facing down should be the color that will be shown. Fold the paper in half.

2. Fold the paper in half again.

3. Unfold.

4. Rotate the paper by 90 degrees in any direction.

5. The previous move should result in this.

6. Fold the paper in half.

7. Fold the paper in half again.

8. The previous move should result in this. Unfold.

9. The previous move should result in this.

10. Fold along the dotted line.

11. First, fold along the vertical dotted line. Then, push inside towards the direction of the arrow, noticing the square-unit dotted and the circle-unit dotted lines. The push fold should be equivalent to a valley fold along the horizontal square-unit dotted line on the innermost layer and a mountain fold along the circle-unit dotted line on the outermost layer.

12. The previous move should result in this. Unfold.

13. Rotate the paper by 180 degrees.

14. The previous move should result in this.

15. Repeat steps 10-12.

16. The previous sequence should result in this crease pattern.

17. Fold the crease pattern. Flip the paper over.

18. Fold along the dotted lines, pushing the two small white triangles inside their respective pockets.

19. The following move should result in this. Repeat steps 1-19 with two more papers. There should be three identical folds that look like the diagram on step 19.

20. Unfold along the dotted line.

21. Fold and unfold along the dotted line. Push inside along the dotted lines towards the direction of the straight arrow.

22. The following move should result in this. Repeat steps 1-22 with two more papers. There should be three identical folds that look like the diagram on step 22.