Michael Morris (oceanographer)

Ocean Optics' miniature spectrometers have been used on the Mir Space Station, the Space Shuttle, and the Mars Rover[8] Curiosity.[5][6][9][10][11][12] In 2009, an Ocean Optics QE65000 Spectrometer named "ALICE" was modified by Aurora Design & Technology for use in NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission. ALICE measured ultraviolet light resulting from the impact of the Centaur upper rocket stage on the floor of the crater Cabeus. This confirmed that water ice is present on the moon.[13][14]

The Rocky 7 Rover prototype used an Ocean Optics point spectrometer which was sensitive in the range of 350-800 nm.[8]

Three Ocean Optics HR2000 spectrometers were customized as part of the ChemCam unit of the NASA Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, which was launched November 26, 2011. The spectrometers were configured to measure different wavelengths of light, in the ranges of 240-336 nm, 380-470 nm, and 470-850 nm. The Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) used a laser to fire a series of very short pulses at a nearby target.[9][15] The initial shots cleared away any dust, while the later ones heated the rock to create a flash of ionized gas or plasm.[16] The resulting light was measured by the spectrometers and the spectra were analyzed to determine the composition of Martian rock and soil.[9][15][17][5][18] Since landing, the ChemCam has identified hundreds of thousands of samples, including calcium, gypsum and bassanite.[11]

The incorporation of an instrument for Raman spectroscopy is being planned by NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Science Definition Team.[19]

Ocean Optics' portable spectrometers have been also been used to examine the phosphorescence spectrum of the Hope Diamond, the Blue Heart Diamond and other natural type IIb blue diamonds.[20][21] The Smithsonian, the United States Naval Research Laboratory, Ocean Optics Co. and Pennsylvania State University collaborated on a study to examine hundreds of blue diamonds.[22] Researchers examined the spectral and temporal properties of the diamonds using a USB2000-FL spectrometer for UV/Vis light studies and an IR512 spectrometer for Raman spectroscopy.[23][24][25]

The Hope Diamond, in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, shows a distinctive red phosphorescent glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Visible to the human eye, it had never been explained.[22][26] The researchers discovered that all blue diamonds show red and green peaks in their phosphorescence spectrum, due to the presence of nitrogen and boron in the stones. The intensity and rate of decay of the spectrum varies from diamond to diamond.[22][26] This technique may enable individual blue diamonds to be "fingerprinted" for identification purposes.[26][22]

Ocean Optics' miniature spectrometers are used in hospitals, in airport security and in university and high school chemistry labs.[6][27] They have applications in the food industry,[28] pharmaceuticals,[29] agriculture,[30] aquaculture, the environment,[31][32] medicine,[33] dentistry,[34][35] and forensics.[36] Their small size means that they can be incorporated into scientific instruments that are used outside laboratories, in industrial production settings, on agricultural fields, for environmental monitoring, and for point of care medical use.[37][38]