The basis for inXitu began in 2003 when Philippe Sarrazin worked with NASA to file a patent on techniques used to develop the CheMin instrument for the Mars Curiosity rover.[1] Sarrazin left NASA to form inXitu Research, which received two Small Business Innovation Research grants from Ames Research Center in 2004 to continue work on CheMin.[1] inXitu Research merged with Microwave Power Technology (MPT) in 2007 and incorporated as inXitu, Inc.[2] MPT's research and development in high vacuum systems was meshed with inXitu's experience with XRD equipment, and in early 2008 the company released Terra, a commercial field-portable XRD/XRF instrument.[2] Bradley Boyer joined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2008.[2][3] inXitu formed a partnership with Innov-X in December 2008, in which inXitu would manufacture XRD equipment for sale under the Innov-X brand name.[4]
Also in 2008, inXitu worked with the Getty Conservation Institute to develop X-Duetto, a portable and non-destructive XRD/XRF device used for the analysis of works of art.[5][6] It was commercially released as Duetto in mid 2009.[7][8] The company released the BTX instrument in mid 2009, which is a desktop XRD/XRF device developed from Terra;[6][9] the second generation BTX-II was released in early 2010.[10]
inXitu was purchased by Olympus in November 2011.[1][3]
