Gripping the Future: Students Test Gecko-Inspired Robotic Arm in ESA’s Orbital Robotics Lab


Team GRASP integrating their gecko-inspired gripper on the air-bearing platform on the right, with the platform carrying the target object on the left.

As part of the ESA Academy Experiments programme, the GRASP student team from Sapienza University of Rome tested a robotic arm fitted with a gecko-inspired adhesive gripper under microgravity-like conditions. The test campaign took place in November 2025 at ESA ESTEC’s Orbital Robotics Lab. The experiment aims to advance technologies for active debris removal and spacecraft docking operations.