BEIJING,Feb.28(Xinhua)--China'sstridesinspacetechnologyarenowenrichingthepreservationofculturalrelics,asspacecraftengineershaverepurposedarobotoriginallydesignedfororbitalmissionstoprotecttombartifacts.TheChinaAcademyofSpaceTechnology(CAST)recentlyannouncedthedevelopmentofsucharobot.Combinedwithelectronbeamirradiationtechnology,itcanbeusedasanintelligentmobilessystemtoeradicatebacteriathatthriveonancientmuralsinsmalltombs.Equippedwitharoboticarmmountedonamobileswheeledchassis,thisdevicecanscanscenesoftombwallsanddomes.Similartotheradiationdisinfectiontechnologyusedinmedicaltreatment,theelectronbeamscaneliminateharmfulbacteriathatcausemuralstofadeorchipovertime.TheprojectwasinitiatedbytheDunhuangAcademy,aninstitutefortheprotectionandresearchoftheWorldculturalheritageofDunhuangGrottoesinChina.Ithasaccumulatedrichexperienceincavepaintingconservationoverthepastdecades.From2020to2022,theacademyhastakentheleadinon-siteprotectionofnationaltombmurals."Thetombmuralpreservationposesagreatchallenge,"saidYuZongren,headoftheacademy'sconservationinstitute.Beingburieddeepundergroundforextendedperiodsexposestombmuralstohighlyhumidenvironments,fosteringtheproliferationofmicroorganismsthatacceleratetheirdeterioration.Furthermore,giventhegenerallyconfinedspacewithintombs,anynegligenceincleaningandprotectionworkcanresultinadditionaldamagetotheseinvaluablerelics.Theconventionaldisinfectionapproachinvolvestheuseofchemicalagents,which,unfortunately,mayposehealthriskstothepeopleinvolvedaswellasaffectthemurals.Asimmovableculturalrelics,muralsneedon-siteprotection,sousingtraditionalbiocideagentsisnotasustainableoption,Yunoted.Inresponsetothedemandforon-siteprotectionoftombmurals,researchersfromtheInstituteofHighEnergyPhysics(IHEP)undertheChineseAcademyofScienceshaveundertakenthedevelopmentofanintelligentmobilesirradiationsterilizationdevice.Theyproposedtherequirementof"maintainingasmallandprecisesizewhileprioritizingsafety,"andcollaboratedwithengineersfromtheCASTtodeveloptherobot.Despiterichexperienceindevelopingroboticarmsforlargespacecapsules,theengineershavenevercreatedarobotspecificallyfortombartworkclearingbefore."Wehaddedicatedmuchofoureffortstoreducingsizeandenhancingtheflexibilityoftherobot,makingitmoresuitablefortombapplications,"saidXuJianping,headoftheengineeringteam.Lasersensors,installedontheremotelyoperatedrobot,candetectandavoidobstacles,ensuringasafedistancebetweentherobotandthemurals.AccordingtoXu,thesetechnologieshadbeenusedonChina'sspacecraft.Althoughmostoftheengineershadneverseenmuralartworksbefore,theytakeprideinusingspacetechnologyfortheprotectionofcenturies-oldculturalrelics,Xunoted.TherobotwasshowcasedforthefirsttimeatadomesticexhibitiononculturalrelicprotectionlastSeptember.Theresearchteamplanstoconductmoreexperimentsbeforeputtingitintoservice.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.