In its original configuration, MoNA consisted of 9 vertical layers of 16 detectors stacked closely, having an active area of 2.0 m wide by 1.6 m tall.
[9] Due to its high-energy detection efficiency, this detector will be well-suited for experiments with fast fragmentation beams at the proposed ISF.
During the 2000 NSCL users meeting, a working group realized the opportunity to significantly enhance the efficiency with an array of more layers using plastic scintillator detectors.
During the following year all modules were assembled and tested by undergraduate students at their school,[10] and finally added to form the complete array at the NSCL.
The MoNA collaboration continued after the initial phase of construction and commissioning was concluded [MoNA], and is now using the detector array for experiments, allowing a large number of undergraduate students from all collaborating schools to take part in cutting-edge nuclear physics experiments at one of the world's leading rare-isotope facilities.
Undergraduates helped construct and test MoNA and continue to participate in experiments during runs and through data analysis.