An ancient art form is beginning to take off in a way no one thought possible: on a spaceship.
Origami, or Japanese folding paper, is currently being developed into solar panels at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at The California Institute of Technology. Solar panels that have endless applications.
Space travel has already turned over the possibility of solar-powered flight via folding panels, but this particular reincarnation is different. Developers cite a more intricate fold that allows for efficient deployment of the solar arrays. And it doesn’t stop there. Origami may one day be used in self-assembling solar arrays that are launched into space to power the earth below.