APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SYNCHRONIZED FORMATION MEASUREMENT

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for minimizing moveme nt of a drill string during MWD with vibration-sensitive instruments comprising conveying a drill string into a borehole with a sensor mounted on the drill string for sensing a parameter of interest of a formation. A clocked controller is disposed on the drill string for controlling timing of the sensor; and a second clocked controller is disposed at a surface location. During drilling operations, the clocked controllers are synchronized such th at the surface controller is performing certain tasks in timed sequence with th e sensor, even though the surface controller is not connected to the sensor. T he instruments may contain an NMR sensor or an extendable probe conencting a sample chamber via a probe.