The two institutes have developed compact and portable x-ray devices capable of analysing the structure and chemical composition of ancient bones, buildings, and art objects in a non-destructive fashion.

UNESCO: Basic Sciences

X-ray crystallography experiments combined with computational simulations to examine the chemical reactions involved.

ECONOMIST: Biochemistry

As well as using the rover's X-ray spectrometer on Whitewater Lake and Kirkwood to determine the chemical elements present, and thus get a better idea of their mineralogical composition, the team needs to work out the order and position of the rock layers to tell them something of their relative ages.

BBC: Nasa's 'Oppy' rover could be rolling on Martian clays