astromoths pop-up card

Here is presented the tragic story of the very first NASA astronauts, before the monkeys and before the dogs there were moths, an experiment that met with an abrupt and ignominious end.  This little-known history is described here over four pages in a pop-up card intended for a friend's birthday.

Much use was made of the V mechanism. It stands up the astromoths, it provides the support for the blastoff smoke, flipping layers in opposite directions. It provides the armature  which flips up the rocket that is returning to Earth, and it provides the matrix upon which the chaos of the exploded lightbulb factory is depicted. Amazingly, that exploded mess folds back neatly because the "V" mechanism is so tight. Content is both attached onto the basic "V" structures, and through them.  It's quite versatile. The flaps are both concealed beneath the card backing and glued on top depending on the need for concealment.