Foldly

MarCO paper model: fold a CubeSat net

This is a paper model (net) of NASA's Mars Cube One, not a square origami fold. The box follows the spacecraft's stowed proportions. The wings stand in for the solar panels, and the lid stands in for the flat high-gain antenna.

Difficulty (estimate)
Medium
Time (estimate)
about 15–20 minutes
Materials
A sheet of paper, scissors, and a glue stick. The printable net prints on page 2.

About the spacecraft

Launch
5 May 2018, 4:05 a.m. PDT, on an Atlas V-401 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, on the same rocket as the InSight lander.
Who built it
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built the pair as a technology demonstration.
Size
A six-unit CubeSat. Stowed, each is about 36.6 × 24.3 × 11.8 cm (14.4 × 9.5 × 4.6 in) and 13.5 kg (29.8 lb). The mission press kit calls them briefcase-sized.
Names
The two spacecraft are MarCO-A and MarCO-B, nicknamed EVE and Wall-E.
Why it flew
It was the first attempt to send CubeSats to another planet, and the first mission to test CubeSats in deep space. They were built to try relaying InSight's landing data.

Reference: NASA/JPL-Caltech. This drawing is Foldly's own. NASA and JPL have not endorsed it.

  1. 1. Fold the four walls up so they stand around the floor.

    Tip: All four walls move in this one step. Each turns on a single hinge.

  2. 2. Fold the lid over the top. The lid stands in for the flat high-gain antenna.

  3. 3. Swing the two wings out. On the real spacecraft, these are the solar panels.

    Tip: The wings are a simplified stand-in. Their size is not a measured copy of the real panels.

  4. 4. Turn the finished paper model.

Paint yours online

Printable net

Cut along the solid outline. Fold on the dashed lines. Glue the shaded tabs inside the walls. This is a simplified paper model, not a NASA kit.