Craig Cutler
Craig Cutler Studio
The Future is Folded: How origami is revolutionizing technology, from medicine to space. February 2023. Cover feature This expanding disk lies at the center of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s half-scale prototype for a starshade, which could become a vital part of the search for habitable worlds. Our galaxy has about as many planets as stars, but scientists, blinded by the starry backdrop of space, often can’t view these orbiting worlds directly. By flying far in front of a space telescope to block starlight, the starshade could help scientists get a clear look. The starshade’s structure is based on an origami flasher pattern, which allows it to coil into a cylinder for launch. I had one chance to get this image, so I photographed it simultaneously from three camera angles.
National Geographic
