In 2010, Altius Space Machines, with support from the SRI International invented the "Sticky Boom" Electroadhesive Boom-Rendezvous system to solve several of the key challenges associated with rendezvous and capture of the Orbiting Sample Canister (OSC) for a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission.

This system significantly improves on previously proposed sample canister capture systems, by providing the following key features: In July 2011, Altius Space Machines won first place in the 2011 NewSpace Business Plan Competition in Silicon Valley, sponsored by the Space Frontier Foundation.

Called MIDAS, Multi-Purpose Interplanetary Deployable Aerocapture System, the 6U CubeSats will be designed to be used on an interplanetary mission such as to Mars, Venus, or Jupiter's moon Europa[7][8] Other work includes the "Kraken Asteroid Boulder Retrieval System."

In late 2014, Altius expects to test prototypes of grasping arms and non-force-closure gripper concepts for capturing a boulder off the surface of an asteroid.

[9] In 2015 Altius won a contract to build lightweight robotic manipulators, that utilize rollable composite STEM booms to provide a prismatic extension/retraction DOF, as robot arms for Assistive Free-Flyers (AFFs) on the International Space Station.

EPMs are solid-state switchable magnets, with no moving parts and can be put into an unlimited number of form factors.