ThisscreenimagecapturedatBeijingAerospaceControlCenteronMay30,2023showsShenzhouXVIcrewedspaceshipsuccessfullydockingwiththeradialportofcoremoduleTianheofthespacestation.BEIJING--China'sadvancementsinspacetechnologyhavethepotentialtorevolutionizefoodpreservationonEarth,withspacecraftengineersrepurposingacutting-edgebarrierfilm,originallydesignedfortheorbitalspacestation,toeffectivelymaintainthehealthandfreshnessofpeople'sdailymeals.ThisinnovativeachievementwasrecentlyunveiledbytheChinaAcademyofSpaceTechnology,intheformofanadvancedflexiblefilmthatcanblockgasesandgerms,providingexceptionalprotectionforfood.Theacademypresentedavideoshowcasinglabresearchersdividingapieceoftofuintotwopartsandplacingeachinseparatetransparentpackages—oneregularandonemadeofthenewhigh-barrierfilm.Aftersevendays,itwasobservedthatthetofustoredintheregularpackagehaddecayed,whilethetofucontainedwithinthehigh-barriermaterialremainedfresh.CaiYuhong,amemberoftheresearchteam,saidthatthecurrentbarrierfilmwidelyusedforfoodpreservationintheChinesemarketisasilveraluminum-foilfilm,likethatcommonlyfoundinsidepotatochippackaging.However,thisaluminizedfilmhascertaindrawbacks,suchasopacityandunsuitabilityformicrowaveprocessing,makingitnon-recyclable.Onlyafewcountriescanproducemoreadvancedfilms."Thenewhigh-barrierfilmwedevelopeddrawsinspirationfromspacecoatingtechnology,"Caisaid.Theoriginalpurposeofthiscoatingtechnologywastoprotectthecablesofthespacestationfromatomicoxygen.Inlow-orbitalspace,sunlightcanbreakdownoxygenmoleculesintoatomicoxygen,whichcanerodespacecraftmaterialsandcomponents.Therefore,engineersapplyabarriercoatingtopreventerosion.Itisalsonecessarytopackagefoodandmedicinetopreventtheentryofwatervaporandoxygen,astheycanleadtothegrowthofmicrobesandresultinspoilage,Caiadded.Since2016,theacademyhasproposedtheconceptofutilizingspacecoatingtechnologyforthedevelopmentofnext-generationhigh-barrierfilms.Itestablishedteamstocarryoutequipmentdevelopmentandprocessresearchinthisfield.Thedevelopmentprocesswasquitechallenging,Cairecalled.Despitethetechnicalprinciplesbeingsimilartoaerospaceproducts,therearelimitedforeigntechnologiesavailableforreference.Afterfouryearsofexploration,theresearchteamhasachievedsignificantprogressincoretechnologiesandsuccessfullyestablishedChina'sfirsthigh-barrierfilmproductionlineandmassproductionline.Thehigh-barrierfilmhasverystringentrequirementsforwaterresistance,accordingtoDongMaojin,whoisresponsiblefortheproduct'sdevelopment.Laboratorytestsshowedthatthefilm'swatervaportransmissionratewasjust0.2gramspersquaremeterperday.Dongdrewananalogy:"Ifafootballfieldwascoveredwithsuchafilm,theamountofwatermoleculesthatcouldpassthroughiteachdaywouldbethesizeofyourthumb."Thenewhigh-barrierfilmisincreasinglyusedforpackaginghigh-endfood,suchascaviarandwhitetruffles.Whenthecostdecreases,thescopeofitsapplicationwillexpand,Dongsaid.Accordingtotheresearchteam,suchhigh-barrierpackagingmaterialscouldpotentiallyserveasanalternativetofoodpreservationinthefuture,reducingoreveneliminatingtheneedforadditivesinfood.Thiswouldbothensurethequalityoffoodandextenditsshelflife.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.