Psyche Inspired

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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View the Works Meet the Interns Program Overview

Psyche stands dressed in a funeral gown, and holding a bouquet of flowers. She wears a blindfold, her head tilted downward, and her shoulders are slumped as an arrow pierces her heart. Overlaid on top of this image, is another version of Psyche. She stands tall and confident as she meets the gaze of a monstrous serpent. Butterfly wings sprout from her back, a symbol of her newly achieved godhood.

Transformation

Orbit C Notebook is the third in the series discussing the gravity field science. The cover features an inset cone, mimicking space time, and LED’s with an animation of direction of acceleration. The interior is hand sewn with circles cut out of the pages to allow the cone to sit flush inside and finished with marbled end pages.

Psyche Mission Orbit C Notebook

“Do you remember? How it all began?” An old man’s eye reflects a communal hearth within a cave. “Humans were always storytellers. On dark nights, heroes lit the skies.” Figures huddle around another small fire under the stars. “Science let us dream with our eyes open.” Ancient observatories, “Searching for answers, finding more questions,” pyramids, and temples align with the constellations. “With better eyes, we saw more than stars.” Astronomical imaging evolves from Galileo’s telescope to Psyche’s multispectral imager. “A lonely island of metal calls us back home” Psyche compared to Earth’s metallic core “Do you remember? Your origins?” A future scientist handling plants aboard a spaceship reflects on humanity’s past.

Origins

Journey to the Metal World

The first card says, "Thank you for lighting up my world", and showcases the Psyche spacecraft warmly smiling at the sun. The second card says, "I can't wait to see you!", and showcases the Psyche spacecraft very excited as it hovers above the Psyche asteroid. The final card says, "Thanks to you, I would not have made it this far!" and shows the Psyche spacecraft flybying Mars.

Psyche Greeting Cards

Small green mountains are painted and collaged at the bottom of the painting and a large antenna sits among them; above is a blue sky with clouds painted on top of a background of old book pages about various scientific topics. At the top of the painting is a collage of images of stars, which funnel down toward the antenna. On top of the stars is a protruding construction of the Psyche spacecraft.

Sending Letters Home

A black-and-white printed illustration of Psyche, portrayed as a giant woman holding a tiny, floating spacecraft in her hand. She sits in front of an asteroid floating in a circular black void, with its two large craters framing her head and the spacecraft. Psyche is dressed in ancient Greek-inspired robes with insect-like wings and long hair. She is crying and smiling at the little spacecraft.

Agape

Letters to The Universe

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Meet the Interns

Psyche Inspired Overview

Psyche Inspired is a program that brings undergraduate students from any discipline or major together to share the excitement, innovation, and scientific and engineering content of NASA’s Psyche mission with the public in new ways through artistic and creative works. These works are posted in the gallery above and highlighted on X, Facebook, and Instagram. View the full resolution images in the image gallery. This year’s Psyche Inspired cohort is known as the Iridium Class.

Psyche Inspired was piloted at ASU during the 2017-2018 academic year. The following academic year, Psyche Inspired expanded nationally! The works from each Psyche Inspired cohort are collected in individual downloadable books that tell the story of Psyche through musical scores, sculptures, painting, 3-D models, photography, acrylic art, needlepoint, stop-motion films, mixed media, and more.

Click here to view all the Psyche Inspired books

Take a look at our comprehensive map that shows how the Psyche Inspired program has grown over the years!

Click here to view the Full Psyche Inspired map

Current Student Collaborations Participants

View a list of the students, faculty, staff, and mentors currently involved in Psyche Student Collaborations.

Student Collaborations Participants

Psyche Inspired

Slide 1 / 5

How Big IS Psyche?

Carrie Geisler

April 9th, 2025

Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Genre/Medium: Papercraft/ Pop-up Card

About the work:

Meet the Interns

Alexa Jones

Ash Soriano

Brooke Flanagan

Cameron Sacra

Carrie Geisler

Hoang Nguyen

Injir Batmunkh

Jessica Gurney

Jessica Hall

Liz Phillips

Madelaine T. Vu

Nidhi Shah

Rebecca Farmer

Therese Manesia Cook

Veronica Keff

Aalijah Maria Ululani Johnson (Fall 2024 only)

Psyche Inspired Overview

Current Student Collaborations Participants