These origami-inspired vehicles are currently in development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and are designed to tackle the kinds of tricky, high-risk terrain that have remained off limits to bulky, expensive rovers like Curiosity, which is the size of a minivan.

As the name suggests, PUFFERs can fold themselves up into compact, lightweight packages that could be easily stowed onboard a spacecraft, only to "pop up" when deployed on the Moon, Mars, Europa, or other planetary targets. Low-cost, durable, and small enough to fit into caves, lava tubes, icy crevasses, and other tight spots, PUFFERs have the potential to explore hazardous areas where other explorers dare not roll.

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