The front of the card asks the question “How big is Psyche?”. When the card unfolds, it expands to three times its original size. Colored panels in the middle make up the Psyche spacecraft. Two larger panels on either side give facts about Psyche’s size and weight, stating that the spacecraft weighs as much as four cows, and is the size of a tennis court with its solar arrays extended.
The front of the card asks the question “How big is Psyche?”. When the card unfolds, it expands to three times its original size. Colored panels in the middle make up the Psyche spacecraft. Two larger panels on either side give facts about Psyche’s size and weight, stating that the spacecraft weighs as much as four cows, and is the size of a tennis court with its solar arrays extended.
The front of the card asks the question “How big is Psyche?”. When the card unfolds, it expands to three times its original size. Colored panels in the middle make up the Psyche spacecraft. Two larger panels on either side give facts about Psyche’s size and weight, stating that the spacecraft weighs as much as four cows, and is the size of a tennis court with its solar arrays extended.
The front of the card asks the question “How big is Psyche?”. When the card unfolds, it expands to three times its original size. Colored panels in the middle make up the Psyche spacecraft. Two larger panels on either side give facts about Psyche’s size and weight, stating that the spacecraft weighs as much as four cows, and is the size of a tennis court with its solar arrays extended.

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How Big IS Psyche?

Carrie Geisler

April 9th, 2025

Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Genre/Medium: Papercraft/ Pop-up Card

About the work:

This project, entitled “How Big IS Psyche?,” is a double tri-shutter card which, much like the Psyche spacecraft, unfolds to be surprisingly large! When closed, the card features only the project title. Open it up, and the card expands to approximately three times its original size to display the Psyche spacecraft surrounded by fun facts about its unexpected size and weight. These fun facts answer the title question by comparing Psyche to the size and weight of everyday objects like a tennis court and an elephant!

The color scheme of the card is inspired by the Psyche mission patch. The background features color gradient paper reminiscent of both the mission patch and our galaxy and is intended to be an artistic interpretation of the space environment Psyche is traveling through. The spacecraft itself is made up of metallic silver paper for the bus, and a deep purple glitter paper for the solar arrays. The fun facts are organized on bright color blocks on either side of the spacecraft to help them stand out, and separated into size and weight.

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Date Added: 04-09-2025
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Carrie Geisler - Psyche Inspired

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