Origami Space Race is an initiative project for an alternative space program based on open source strategies. It is a race for development of the best origami space airplane with the final goal of initiating the open source space program as an alternative to “official” space programs. The project’s main aim is a turn in the approach to the space technology, a turn towards more ecological technologies and into a more open perception and greater accessibility of space.

In this project, art functions as a stimulant for the idea being developed by Japanese scientists, who are planning to launch an origami aircraft from an international space station. This idea has the potential of becoming a starting point of a new generation of ecological spacecrafts as well as other origami structures applicable in space. Because of the extreme conditions in outer space, the technology being developed for these purposes could constitute the precondition for a technological revolution on Earth. The Origami Space Race project would like to stimulate and contribute to these future inventions.