| MICA Industry NEWS Press Release Short |  |
Arvada, CO
SAMPLES, "Be-Unprepared"
Like the well-known motto, in the realm of X-Ray materials analysis, having samples that must "be prepared" is the norm. This motto also holds when the analyst is a spacecraft-mounted "robotic instrument" sitting on the surface of the Moon or Mars. On the contrary, N-Science Corporation, along with the SETI Institute and Broad Reach Engineering, has recently demonstrated that it is not necessary to resort to this norm of sample preparation in the future. Our team conducted a demonstration of this technique with a next generation instrument called MICA --the Mineral Identification & Composition Analyzer. MICA is unique in its ability to provide X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Optical Imagery Analysis simultaneously on an unprepared, pristine sample.This capability represents an "enabling" technology for future Space Missions requiring Rapid Initial Acquisition & Analysis because no time is lost in sample preparation and handling. MICA can also be applied to earth-based laboratory and field applications dealing with "critical" samples that cannot be destroyed or that must be examined in an undisturbed state, for example, paintings on the walls of caves and pyramid tombs, or forensic materials. In other applications MICA can enable rapid screening and first-order classification of materials on assembly lines and in laboratories handling large sample sets.
For future Lunar Missions, the team is now incorporating this approach into an instrument called ISRA, the In-Situ Resource Analyzer. A demonstration of this technology via the MICA instrument was held at the NASA Ames Research Center in August of this year. MICA was mounted on NASA Ames K-9 Mars Rover to show that this next-generation technology can be packaged in a miniature, compact, and portable unit and operate from its position on the Rover Robotic Arm.
Contacts:
Dr. John Marshall
MICA/ISRA PI
jmarshall@seti.org
jmarshall@nscicorp.com
650-325-2399
Dr. Joseph Martin
Director, Science Programs
joesensors@nscicorp.com
303-549-4365