Engineers design a robotic gripper for cleaning up space debris

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Researchers combined gecko-inspired adhesives and a custom robotic gripper to create a device for grabbing space debris. They tested their gripper in multiple zero gravity settings, including the International Space Station.
via Science Daily
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The Bee-Zed asteroid orbits in the opposite direction to planets

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In our solar system, an asteroid orbits the Sun in the opposite direction to the planets. It takes 12 years to make one complete orbit around the Sun. Researchers have developed a general theory on retrograde co-orbitals and retrograde orbital resonance.
via Science Daily
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Feature: Greetings, E.T. (Please Don’t Murder Us.)

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A new initiative to beam messages into space may be our best shot yet at learning whether we’re alone in the universe. There’s just one problem: What if we’re not?
via New York Times

Ruthenium rules for new fuel cells

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Scientists have fabricated a durable catalyst for high-performance fuel cells by attaching single ruthenium atoms to graphene.
via Science Daily

Graphene and terahertz waves could lead the way to future communication

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By utilizing terahertz waves in electronics, future data traffic can get a big boost forward. So far, the terahertz (THz) frequency has not been optimally applied to data transmission, but by using graphene, researchers have come one step closer to a possible paradigm shift for the electronic industry.
via Science Daily

Composite Messier 20 and 21

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The beautiful Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, lies about 5,000 light-years away, a colorful study in cosmic contrasts. It shares this nearly 1 degree wide field with open star cluster Messier 21 (top left). Trisected by dust lanes the Trifid itself is about 40 light-years across and a mere 300,000 years old. That makes it one of the youngest star forming regions in our sky, with newborn and embryonic stars embedded in its natal dust and gas clouds. Estimates of the distance to open star cluster M21 are similar to M20's, but though they share this gorgeous telescopic skyscape there is no apparent connection between the two. M21's stars are much older, about 8 million years old. M20 and M21 are easy to find with even a small telescope in the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. In fact, this well-composed scene is a composite from two different telescopes. Using narrowband data it blends a high resolution image of M20 with a wider field image extending to M21.

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