{"id":407172,"date":"2026-01-11T23:45:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T23:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407172\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T23:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T23:45:16","slug":"origami-style-mars-base-that-deploys-with-one-pull-of-a-string-with-no-tools-could-house-humans-visiting-red-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407172\/","title":{"rendered":"Origami-style Mars base that deploys ‘with one pull of a string’ with NO tools could house humans visiting red planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORIGAMI-style space homes that spring off the ground on Mars could house future visitors to the red planet.<\/p>\n

These hi-tech habitats would pop up with \u201cone pull of a string\u201d \u2013 with no tools needed.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for The US Sun newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

MIT scientists say that the Mars homes could pop up with the pull of a stringCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n

The design could be used for lots of different types of structuresCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the impressive brainchild of Massachusetts Institute of Technology geniuses who have invented a brand new way of designing buildings.<\/p>\n

They would lay thin and flat on the ground, before springing into life for instant use with a single tug of a string.<\/p>\n

Its creators say that the system could be used to create \u201cmodular space habitats\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And these could be yanked up with a single pull by \u201crobots working on the surface of Mars\u201d.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

HEAVEN’S DOOR<\/p>\n

The stunning Mars homes for colonists that’ll be printed by robot builders<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

LUNAR-GHINI!<\/p>\n

Stunning space cars including hi-tech Moon van being built for lunar colonists<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not only useful for space<\/a> \u2013 scientists say these quick-build creations could be rapidly deployed in disaster zones.<\/p>\n

For instance, they could be used to quickly mock up a temporary field hospital after a \u201cdevastating tsunami\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actuation mechanism is easily reversible,\u201d MIT explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if the string is released, the structure quickly returns to its flat configuration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could enable complex, 3D structures to be stored and transported more efficiently and with less cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project was revealed in a paper called \u201cOne String to Pull Them All\u201d, riffing on J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s iconic The Lord of the Rings line.<\/p>\n

And though it might seem just like origami, it\u2019s actually closer to another Japanese art called kirigami.<\/p>\n

Origami works without cutting the paper, but kirigami is the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting.<\/p>\n

So they use cutting to creature a structure that gets thicker when stretched and thinner when compressed.<\/p>\n

The researchers created an algorithm to work out the smallest number of points that the string needs to lift to fully deploy the 3D creation.<\/p>\n

The structures uses a Japanese kirigami-style designCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology \/ The Sun<\/p>\n

The creations lay flat \u2013 and pop up to create surprisingly strong structuresCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n

Then it works out the shortest path connecting those \u201clift points\u201d.<\/p>\n

And this means an \u201coptimal string path\u201d can be calculated to make it as easy as possible to yank up the structure with a single pull.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur method makes it easy for the user,\u201d said lead author and MIT grad Akib Zaman.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll they have to do is input their design, and our algorithm automatically takes care of the rest. Then all the user needs to do is to fabricate the tiles exactly the way it has been computed by the algorithm,\u201d Zaman said.<\/p>\n

Robots could be used to pop the structures up on Mars initially \u2013 but eventually, they might be able to deploy themselvesCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n

MIT also said that it doesn\u2019t really matter how the structures are \u201cfabricated\u201d.<\/p>\n

So they could be built using a moulding method, or by 3D printing.<\/p>\n

They just need to follow the core design laid out by the scientists for the system to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe simplicity of the whole actuation mechanism is a real benefit of our approach,\u201d Zaman explained..<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tHow long does it take to get to Mars?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIt’s not that short of a trip…\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an immense distance between Earth and Mars, which means any trip to the red planet will take a very long time
\nIt\u2019s also made more complicated by the fact that\u00a0the distance is constantly changing as the two planets rotate around the sun
\nThe closest that the Earth and Mars would ever be is a distance of 33.9million miles \u2013 that\u2019s 9,800 times the distance between London and New York
\nThat\u2019s really rare though: the more useful distance is the average, which is 140million miles
\nScientists on Earth have already launched a whole bunch of spacecraft to (or near) Mars, so we have a rough idea of how long it takes with current technology
\nHistorically, the trip has taken anywhere from 128 to 333 days \u2013 admittedly a huge length of time for humans to be on board a cramped spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Image credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cThe user just needs to provide their intended design.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then our method optimises it in such a way that it holds the shape after just one pull on the string, so the structure can be deployed very easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people will be able to use this method to create a wide variety of different, deployable structures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers aren\u2019t done, either.<\/p>\n

Deploying and taking down the structures can be done quickly and easilyCredit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n

In the future, they\u2019d like to create a mechanism that deploys itself \u2013 rather than requiring a human or robot to begin the process.<\/p>\n

That way, future Martian homes<\/a> could spring up off the ground without any physical interaction.<\/p>\n

The bad news is that there aren\u2019t any immediate plans to send humans to Mars.<\/p>\n

Nasa is currently making its way through its Artemis Program, which aim to return humans to the surface of the Moon.<\/p>\n

The structures lay totally flat before they\u2019re deployed, making it easy to store them<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tMars facts\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHere’s what you need to know about the red planet…\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun
\nIt is named after the Roman god of war
\nThe landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here
\nMars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest
\nMars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth
\nIt takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun
\nThe planet has a diameter of 4,212 miles, and has an average distance from Earth of 140 million miles
\nMartian temperatures can vary wildly, reaching as high as 70F\/20C or as low as -225F\/-153C<\/p>\n

Artemis I saw the successful uncrewed test of the Space Launch System and Orion capsule in 2022.<\/p>\n

This is set to be followed by Artemis II in 2026, which will see the first crewed test flight of the SLS and Orion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s expected to take place between February and April this year.<\/p>\n

Then in 2027, Nasa expects to put humans back on the Moon with its Artemis III mission.<\/p>\n

It uses a kirigami-style \u2018cut\u2019 design that allows the flat shapes to pop up into complex structures<\/p>\n

This will be the first American crewed lunar landing since 1972\u2019s Apollo 17 mission.<\/p>\n

Crewed missions to Mars aren\u2019t expected until the 2030s at the earliest.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tSign up for The Sun Tech newsletter for gadgets, games u0026 more\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHello! I’m Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been writing about gadgets, games and the future of technology for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

During that time I\u2019ve penned thousands of articles, filmed hundreds of videos, talked tech on TV and radio, and travelled around the world to bring you the latest on Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, Netflix and more.<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ve got a weekly newsletter called The Sun Tech that you can read for free every Thursday.<\/p>\n

I bring you the latest from the world of tech, including behind-the-scenes action, exclusive content, expert analysis, and plenty of help advice \u2013 so please follow along!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORIGAMI-style space homes that spring off the ground on Mars could house future visitors to the red planet.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,9438,131,128,285,20031,215813,153861],"class_list":{"0":"post-407172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-longtail","11":"tag-nasa","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-space","14":"tag-space-and-astronomy","15":"tag-weekend-content","16":"tag-weird-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}