The Ma_MISS team used the MOT (i.e., Ma_MISS Optical Tool) to make a series of laboratory measurements on different mineral mixtures representative of the Oxia Planum landing site, which from past studies appears to be dominated by rocks that in different geological eras have been altered by the presence of water. For this reason, six different samples obtained by mixing clays of various origins with other mafic minerals were prepared to simulate varying degrees of water-related alteration of a hypothetical shallow Martian subsurface.

From the collected data, hundreds of simulated spectra were produced and then spatially placed along the interior surfaces of a simulated cylindrical borehole, with the ultimate goal of reconstructing the stratigraphy of the drill site.