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How to fold an origami space camp

A real project. Fold a moon rover whose mast and camera head bend up with outside reverse folds, plus a rocket, an astronaut, a satellite, a ringed planet and stars. Stand it up.

You need: 25 pieces: violet A4, grey, dark grey, red, orange, gold, pale grey, navy, teal, pink, blue and yellow (sizes in steps). Glue, pens.. Challenge, 79 steps, about 100 minutes.

Steps

  1. Ground: low hills. Start with the ground. Fold the top left corner behind on a long slant, 11 cm along the top, and the top right corner behind, 9 cm along.
  2. Ground: ridge, fold up. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 2.6 cm above it.
  3. Ground: ridge, fold down. Fold it back down 4 mm higher. The little ledge is a crater ridge across the moon dust.
  4. Launch pad: new sheet. Set the ground aside. For the launch pad, take a 7.2 × 2.4 cm dark grey piece, grey side up, lying long.
  5. Pad: white edge. Fold the top edge down 6 mm towards you. The white strip is the pad's concrete edge.
  6. Pad: sloping sides. Fold the two top corners behind, 1.2 cm along each edge, so the pad's sides slope.
  7. Booster: new sheet. Set the launch pad aside. For a booster, take a 4.5 cm grey square, white side up, as a diamond.
  8. Rocket: booster 1: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  9. Rocket: booster 1: make a kite. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease. The white tip at the bottom is its little nozzle.
  10. Booster: new sheet. Set the booster aside. For the second booster, take another 4.5 cm grey square.
  11. Rocket: booster 2: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  12. Rocket: booster 2: make a kite. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease, like the first one.
  13. Flame: new sheet. Set the booster aside. For the flame, take a 4.5 cm orange square, white side up, as a diamond.
  14. Rocket: flame: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  15. Rocket: flame: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to the centre crease, so the long point is at the bottom.
  16. Rocket: flame: top behind. Fold the white top point behind on the line between the side corners. Now it's a flame.
  17. Rocket: new sheet. Set the flame aside. For the rocket body, take a 9 cm red square, white side up, as a diamond.
  18. Rocket: body: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  19. Rocket: body: make a tall kite. Fold the two upper edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  20. Rocket: body: flat bottom. Fold the white bottom point behind on the line between the two side corners.
  21. Rocket: body: straight sides. Fold each side corner behind on a straight up-and-down line, so the sides run straight down from the pointed nose.
  22. Wheel: new sheet. Set the rocket aside. For a wheel, take a 2.8 cm dark grey square, grey side up.
  23. Wheel: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for a chunky round wheel.
  24. Wheel: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. For the next wheel, take another 2.8 cm dark grey square.
  25. Wheel: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for a chunky round wheel.
  26. Wheel: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. For the last wheel, take another 2.8 cm dark grey square.
  27. Wheel: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 8 mm along each edge, for a chunky round wheel.
  28. Rover: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. For the moon rover, the hard part: a 17.8 × 4.8 cm gold strip, white side up, lying long.
  29. Rover: edges to the middle. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle. Now it is gold on both sides.
  30. Rover: fold in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half. The fold along the top is the rover's deck.
  31. Rover: camera mast. Outside-reverse-fold the right end straight up, creasing down from the deck fold 6.6 cm from the end. It stands up as a tall mast.
  32. Rover: antenna. Outside-reverse-fold the left 2.4 cm up, leaning back a little, creasing down from the deck fold. It is the rover's antenna.
  33. Rover: slim the mast and antenna. Fold the open edge of the mast and of the antenna in on a slant, nothing at the deck and 5–8 mm at the top: front layers towards you, back ones behind.
  34. Rover: camera head. Outside-reverse-fold the top 2 cm of the mast forward, to the right, for the camera head.
  35. Backpack: new sheet. Set the rover aside. For the backpack, take a 4.4 × 4.4 cm darker grey square, grey side up.
  36. Astronaut: backpack: top and bottom behind. Fold the top and bottom edges a little way behind to make a wide box.
  37. Arms: new sheet. Set the backpack aside. For the arms, take a 7.6 × 7.6 cm pale grey square, white side up.
  38. Astronaut: arms: edges to the middle. Fold the top and bottom edges to meet on the middle line.
  39. Astronaut: arms: and again. Fold the new top and bottom edges to the middle line again.
  40. Astronaut: arms: round the hands. Fold all four corners of the strip a little way behind to round the gloves.
  41. Spacesuit: new sheet. Set the arms aside. For the spacesuit, take a 3.8 × 3.8 cm pale grey square, grey side up.
  42. Astronaut: suit: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  43. Astronaut: suit: cut the shape. Cut through both layers: snip off the top right corner for a shoulder, then cut a slanted gap up from the bottom of the fold to make the legs.
  44. Astronaut: suit: open it. Unfold the suit. It has round shoulders and two chunky legs.
  45. Helmet: new sheet. Set the spacesuit aside. For the helmet, take a 3.5 × 3.5 cm pale grey square, grey side up.
  46. Astronaut: helmet: round it. Start with the 3.4 cm pale grey square, grey side up. Fold all four corners a little way behind to make a round helmet.
  47. Visor: new sheet. Set the helmet aside. For the visor, take a 2.5 × 2.5 cm navy square, navy side up.
  48. Astronaut: visor: top and bottom behind. Fold the top and bottom edges a little way behind so the visor is wider than it is tall.
  49. Astronaut: visor: round the corners. Fold the four corners behind to round them off.
  50. Planet: new sheet. Set the visor aside. For the planet, take a 5.2 cm teal square, teal side up.
  51. Planet: corners behind. Fold the four corners behind, 1.5 cm along each edge.
  52. Planet: round it. Fold the eight new corners behind a little, about 5 mm each, so the planet is round.
  53. Ring: new sheet. Set the planet aside. For the ring, take a 8.4 × 1.6 cm pink strip, white side up, lying long.
  54. Ring: fold in half. Fold the bottom half up onto the top half, for a pink band.
  55. Ring: point the ends, top corners. Fold the top corner at each end behind on a slant, from the middle of the end to 1.2 cm along the edge.
  56. Ring: point the ends, bottom corners. Now fold the bottom corners behind the same way, so both ends are pointed.
  57. Solar panels: new sheet. Set the ring aside. For the solar panels, take a 8.3 × 8.3 cm blue square, white side up.
  58. Satellite: panels: edges to the middle. Fold the top and bottom edges to meet on the middle line.
  59. Satellite: panels: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge to make one long blue strip.
  60. Satellite body: new sheet. Set the solar panels aside. For the satellite body, take a 3.7 × 3.7 cm gold square, white side up.
  61. Satellite: body: sides to the middle. Start with the gold square, white side up. Fold the left and right edges in to meet on the middle line.
  62. Dish: new sheet. Set the satellite body aside. For the dish, take a 2.5 cm silver square, white side up, as a diamond.
  63. Satellite: dish: make a triangle. Fold the top corner down to meet the bottom corner.
  64. Satellite: dish: flatten the bowl. Fold the bottom point up behind, so the triangle becomes a shallow bowl.
  65. First star: new sheet. Set the dish aside. For the first star, take a 2.8 cm yellow square, white side up, as a diamond.
  66. First star: top kite. Fold the two upper edges in to lie along the middle line, for a kite.
  67. First star: bottom kite. Fold the two lower edges in to the middle line too. It becomes a long thin diamond: one spike of the star.
  68. First star's cross piece: new sheet. Set the first star aside. For the cross piece, take a 1.8 cm yellow square, white side up, as a diamond.
  69. First star: cross piece. Fold it the same way, but lying sideways: the edges by the left corner in to the middle line, then the edges by the right corner.
  70. First star: cross piece, right. Now the right edges in, for a short diamond lying across. Glue it over the long one later to make a four-point star.
  71. Second star: new sheet. Set the first star's cross piece aside. For the second star, take a 3.3 cm yellow square, white side up, as a diamond.
  72. Second star: top kite. Fold the two upper edges in the same way to lie along the middle line, for a kite.
  73. Second star: bottom kite. Fold the two lower edges in to the middle line too. It becomes a long thin diamond: one spike of the star.
  74. Second star's cross piece: new sheet. Set the second star aside. For the cross piece, take a 2 cm yellow square, white side up, as a diamond.
  75. Second star: cross piece. Fold it the same way, but lying sideways: the edges by the left corner in to the middle line, then the edges by the right corner.
  76. Second star: cross piece, right. Now the right edges in, for a short diamond lying across. Glue it over the long one later to make a four-point star.
  77. Sky: new sheet. Set the second star's cross piece aside. Last, the sky: a deep violet A4 sheet, coloured side up, lying long.
  78. Build the scene. Glue the ground along the bottom, the pad and rocket on the left, the wheels then the rover on the right, the astronaut in the middle, and the rest up in the sky.
  79. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you just right of the astronaut, and stand the space camp up on the table.

Ready for lift-off!

Draw the rocket's window, the astronaut's chest pack, the rover's lens and hubs, craters, the planet's bands and white twinkles all over the sky.

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