This development will enable next generation portable field XRD/XRF instruments for geological analysis in the field, mining, oil, forensic, art, and also dedicated applications such as in-vacuum process monitoring tools for thin film deposition, robotic systems for quality control, or low cost benchtop instrument for routine analysis in the laboratory or education. The proposed instrument would be fitted to a landed platform, rover or lander, to perform mineralogical analysis of the regolith, rocks, ices, and dust at the lunar surface. The flight instrument will weight about half that of the MSL CheMin instrument and require about ten times less energy to perform an analysis at identical or improved XRD performance. These improvements will enable small missions with limited payload to be fitted with XRD/XRF capabilities. Although this development is focused on lunar applications, the technology would equally benefit landed planetary missions requiring definitive mineralogy capabilities.
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