University of Miami pathologist Richard Cote is using Yang's principle of a lensless microscope to pioneer a way to move a microscope across sample cells located on a fixed surface.
Drilling a few centimetres inside a rock provides a fresh sample that is free from the alteration that can occur at the surface as a result of weathering or radiation damage.
Scientists need to be sure that when the big hammer tool turns in a rock it breaks the surface into a useable powder that will not clog or damage the sample handling mechanism.
Held in a scoop on the rover's mechanical arm, the tablespoon of pulverized gray rock offers planetary scientists their first sample from the planet's interior, where it may have been sheltered from the harsh surface chemistry and ultra-violet radiation.
If the antibody method is being used, the tester deposits a droplet of sample fluid that has been seeded with magnetic particles coated with the appropriate antibodies onto the chip's surface.