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European Space Agency

In research, European Space Agency stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,607 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#3,971 of 6,636 worldwide) and Astronomy and Astrophysics (#372 of 443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Aerospace Engineering and Physics and Astronomy — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 37.0× its share of world research.

esa.int/ESAROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,304
of 28,054 · #4,611 all time
Rank in France
#265
of 1,422
Research works
1.8k
▼ 13% vs 2013–17
Citations
17k
9.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
11.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
34%
world 28%

What is European Space Agency known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,607 of 12,888 11.9%315 #2838
EngineeringField #3,971 of 6,636 12.1%152 #1723
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #372 of 443 12.5%70 #493
Physics and AstronomyField #1,391 of 1,646 13.8%88 #2184
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #693 of 795 14.5%88 #546

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where European Space Agency sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#2,838 #4,607
  2. Engineering#1,723 #3,971
  3. Astronomy and Astrophysics#493 #372
  4. Physics and Astronomy#2,184 #1,391
  5. Aerospace Engineering#546 #693
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does European Space Agency specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 37.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 69.7 works37×
  2. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 87.8 works21×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 87.7 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.16× its world share, 3 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.42× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.14× its world share, 32 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.89× its world share, 16 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.74× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.79× its world share, 152 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.85× its world share, 15 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.49× its world share, 6 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.20× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 10.87× its world share, 88 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 10 worksMedicineNursing: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.53× its world share, 6 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.45× its world share, 5 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.17× its world share, 9 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.15× its world share, 7 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 10.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at European Space Agency?

Ranked on the composite score, R. M. Bonnet, Kai-Uwe Schrogl and C. Arviset lead among researchers whose main affiliation is European Space Agency.

  1. 1 R. M. Bonnet France · #78,726 worldwide 220 citations · 49 works
  2. 2 Kai-Uwe Schrogl France · #363,869 worldwide 19 citations · 36 works
  3. 3 C. Arviset France · #385,946 worldwide 67 citations · 41 works
  4. 4 Maarten Adriaensen France · #416,954 worldwide 68 citations · 15 works
  5. 5 Roy Gibson France · #431,497 worldwide 19 citations · 34 works
  6. 6 Ntorina Antoni France · #750,587 worldwide 9 citations · 16 works
  7. 7 Peter Meadows France · #989,658 worldwide 21 citations · 22 works
  8. 8 Christina Giannopapa France · #1,038,708 worldwide 19 citations · 45 works
  9. 9 M. Barthélémy France · #1,052,931 worldwide 1 citations · 15 works
  10. 10 Jaron Samson France · #1,301,641 worldwide 25 citations · 18 works
All ranked researchers at European Space Agency

Which keywords describe research at European Space Agency?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: CubeSat, small satellite, Space Policy, Space Tourism, Orbit Determination, On-Orbit Servicing, Space Debris and Mars.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. CubeSat24▲ 349×1 topic
  2. small satellite24▲ 349×1 topic
  3. Space Policy18▲ 347×1 topic
  4. Space Tourism18▲ 347×1 topic
  5. Orbit Determination18▲ 115×2 topics
  6. On-Orbit Servicing14▲ 174×1 topic
  7. Remote Sensing14▲ 3.1×22 topics
  8. Space Debris14▲ 174×1 topic
  9. Mars14▲ 115×1 topic
  10. Martian Surface14▲ 115×1 topic
  11. Risk Assessment10▲ 4.2×9 topics
  12. Space Exploration10▲ 64×2 topics
  13. Astrobiology10▲ 94×1 topic
  14. Extraterrestrial Life10▲ 129×1 topic
  15. Solar System Abundances10▲ 54×1 topic
  16. Terrestrial Planets10▲ 54×1 topic
  17. Fault Tolerance8▲ 14×6 topics
  18. Biomechanics7▲ 6.1×4 topics
  19. Design6▲ 11×2 topics
  20. Simulation6▲ 6.8×2 topics
  21. Extravehicular Activity6▲ 202×1 topic
  22. Space Suit6▲ 202×1 topic
  23. Cognitive Radio6▲ 48×2 topics
  24. Optimal Control6▲ 24×2 topics
  25. LEO Satellite Constellation6▲ 56×1 topic
  26. Satellite Communications6▲ 56×1 topic
  27. Spacecraft Formation Flying6▲ 120×1 topic
  28. Trajectory Optimization6▲ 29×1 topic
  29. Hydrological Modeling6▲ 6.5×5 topics
  30. Economic Evaluation5▲ 12×2 topics
  31. Thermodynamic Modeling5▲ 13×2 topics
  32. Distributed Systems5▲ 8.6×6 topics
  33. Radiation Effects5▲ 34×2 topics
  34. CMOS Technology5▲ 18×4 topics
  35. Cost-effectiveness Analysis5▲ 17×1 topic
  36. Cryogenic Storage5▲ 49×1 topic
  37. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)5▲ 49×1 topic
  38. Astronomical Instrumentation5▲ 52×1 topic
  39. Sensor Fusion5▲ 12×2 topics
  40. Spectrograph5▲ 52×1 topic

Which research topics does European Space Agency publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Spacecraft Design and Technology, Space exploration and regulation, Space Satellite Systems and Control and Planetary Science and Exploration.

Spacecraft Design and Te…24Spacecraft Design and Technology: 24 fractional worksSpace exploration and regulation: 18 fractional worksSpace Satellite Systems …14Space Satellite Systems and Control: 14 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Ex…14Planetary Science and Exploration: 14 fractional worksSpace Science and Extrat…10Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life: 10 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Scie…10Astro and Planetary Science: 10 fractional worksSpace Exploration and Te…6Space Exploration and Technology: 6 fractional worksSpacecraft Dynamics and Control: 6 fractional worksSatellite Communication Systems: 6 fractional worksHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life: 5 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringAstronomy and AstrophysicsEconomics and Econometrics

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 24 works
  2. 2 Space exploration and regulation Astronomy and Astrophysics 18 works
  3. 3 Space Satellite Systems and Control Aerospace Engineering 14 works
  4. 4 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 14 works
  5. 5 Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  6. 6 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  7. 7 Space Exploration and Technology Aerospace Engineering 6 works
  8. 8 Spacecraft Dynamics and Control Aerospace Engineering 6 works
  9. 9 Satellite Communication Systems Aerospace Engineering 6 works
  10. 10 Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life Economics and Econometrics 5 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available33.8%not open66.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors48.7%domestic only51.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has European Space Agency's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 13% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Paris

All research institutions in Paris

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.