The Mineral Synthesis Lab complex is equipped with a very diverse suite of spectroscopic and scattering instruments to determine material chemical composition, structure, surface area and grain size of both synthetic and natural samples.

Various binocular and polarization microscopes are used to study mineral separates, and rock thin sections. Additionally, a micro mill for high‐resolution milling to recover sample powder for chemical and isotopic analysis is available.

The core of the laboratory is a Raman micro-spectrometer. The spectrometer is equipped with a cryostat serving as a planetary simulation chamber which permits simulation of environmental conditions on planetary surfaces, namely pressure (10⁻⁶ hPa – 1000 hPa), atmospheric constituents, and temperature (4 K – 500 K). The laboratory is also equipped with preparation facilities for analog materials. The samples which are analyzed in the laboratory range from minerals, Martian analog material, …

The laboratory for light microscopy provides light optical images with topography and element contrast. The Microscopy Lab is equipped with a number of optical microscopes with reflected and transmitted light illumination and stereo microscopes.