Cuttings trap for “at bit” measurement of drilled cuttings

A cuttings catcher, comprising:

• a housing comprising a recess;
• a retractable mesh installed in the recess;
• and
• a pivot integrally formed in the one or more recesses of the housing, and a shaft extending through the pivot and a connection point on the retractable mesh,
• wherein, when the retractable mesh is in an extended position, the retractable mesh extends across the recess to fill the recess.

A method of operating an at-bit cuttings catcher system, comprising:

• providing a toolstring, the toolstring comprising a drill bit, a stabilizer, a cuttings catcher, and a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tool,
• wherein the cuttings catcher is secured to the stabilizer, and
• wherein the cuttings catcher comprises a housing with one or more recesses, and a mesh installed in the one or more recesses;
• drilling a formation using the drill bit;
• producing a plurality of cuttings of the formation;
• extending the mesh from the housing of the cuttings catcher, wherein extending the mesh from the housing of the cuttings catcher comprises rotating the mesh about a shaft at a connection point from a retracted position to an extended position;
• catching a plurality of cuttings in the cuttings catcher;
• and
• analyzing the plurality of cuttings using one or more sensors.