NASA’s microscopic gripper uses THOUSANDS of tiny hooks to grip asteroid rocks. 🛰️🪨🤯 How do you grab a piece of an asteroid when you’re millions of kilometers away from Earth, with almost no gravity and no convenient place to hold onto? NASA researchers are exploring an answer that sounds like something straight out of science fiction: microscopic hooks. The technology is inspired by the same basic principle behind Velcro. Instead of using magnets, glue or large mechanical claws, a specially engineered gripping surface contains thousands of microscopic structures that can catch onto tiny irregularities and textures on a rock’s surface. And that matters enormously in space. Asteroids aren't smooth, manufactured objects. Their surfaces can be covered in dust, loose rocks, cracks, pores and extremely irregular textures. A conventional gripping mechanism could struggle to securely hold such unpredictable material. Microscopic hooks work differently. When the gripper makes contact...