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ESA Space Claw To Grab Space Junk

I often wonder what science fiction programs people grew up on. Take a look at this European Space Agency plan to grab space junk, for example:

The European Space Agency (ESA) today finalized a contract to launch a mission in 2025 that will be the first to capture and dispose of a piece of orbiting space junk. The ClearSpace-1 mission, built by Swiss startup ClearSpace, will home in on a piece of debris the size of a washing machine, grapple it with a four-armed claw, and escort it down to a lower orbit where the duo will enter the atmosphere and burn up.

(Via ScienceMag)

Perhaps these ESA scientists were influenced by the 1977 television series Quark. This comedy described the activities of the United Galaxies Sanitation Patrol Cruiser, an interstellar garbage scow.

(United Galaxies Sanitation Patrol Cruiser)

Richard Benjamin played Adam Quark, who worked to clean up trash in space. He is ably assisted by the Bettys, played by the Doublemint twins (Cyb and Patricia Barnstable).

(Richard Benjamin and the Barnstable twins)

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