A science instrumentation project called MIA (Miniature In-Situ Analyzer) seeks to develop a next-generation geochemical, mineralogical and petrological analysis tool for NASA’s PICASSO program, which will send landers and rovers to collect samples from planets and near-Earth objects.

MIA has applications on Earth and in space, said MIA team member N-Science Corp. of Golden, Colo. Other members include the Space Science Institute, Catholic University of America, Lockheed Martin, Colorado School of Mines, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of New Mexico.

MIA combines x-ray diffraction and x-ray fluorescence with a compact x-ray source and dual CCD detectors as well as a dual x-ray analyzer with an optical microimager and a compact Raman spectrometer. Unlike earlier techniques, it has the advantage of not needing complex, energy-consuming, high-risk sample preparation techniques that involve destroying the original sample.