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Research facility · Greenbelt · United States

Goddard Space Flight Center

In research, Goddard Space Flight Center stands highest in Astronomy and Astrophysics (#16 of 443 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#493 of 12,888 worldwide) and Earth and Planetary Sciences (#49 of 1,209 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Atmospheric Science — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 60.5× its share of world research.

nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#886
of 28,054 · #145 all time
Rank in United States
#163
of 4,192
Research works
41k
▼ 24% vs 2013–17
Citations
1M
25.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
20.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
37%
world 28%

What is Goddard Space Flight Center 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
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #16 of 443 21.2%550 #2
Physical SciencesDomain #493 of 12,888 21.0%1,636 #75
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #49 of 1,209 23.2%290 #2
Environmental ScienceField #455 of 3,551 26.4%256 #57
Atmospheric ScienceSubfield #39 of 301 21.8%197 #2
Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield #123 of 535 26.5%128 #4
Physics and AstronomyField #384 of 1,646 21.4%695 #170
EngineeringField #2,205 of 6,636 16.6%293 #190
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #480 of 795 21.9%141 #32

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Goddard Space Flight Center 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. Astronomy and Astrophysics#2 #16
  2. Physical Sciences#75 #493
  3. Earth and Planetary Sciences#2 #49
  4. Environmental Science#57 #455
  5. Atmospheric Science#2 #39
  6. Global and Planetary Change#4 #123
  7. Physics and Astronomy#170 #384
  8. Engineering#190 #2,205
  9. Aerospace Engineering#32 #480
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 Goddard Space Flight Center specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 60.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 550.4 works60×
  2. InstrumentationSubfield · 31.7 works36×
  3. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 197.2 works25×
  4. Physics and AstronomyField · 695.2 works18×
  5. OceanographySubfield · 53.4 works11×
  6. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 290.1 works11×
  7. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 128.3 works9.6×
  8. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 43.8 works8.0×
← 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: 0.14× its world share, 11 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.44× its world share, 41 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.30× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.01× its world share, 28 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.36× its world share, 50 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 10.55× its world share, 290 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.15× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.11× its world share, 293 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.94× its world share, 256 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.24× its world share, 15 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.27× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 17.84× its world share, 695 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.07× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 21 worksMedicineNursing: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.05× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.75× its world share, 13 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.09× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.05× its world share, 12 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 17.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Goddard Space Flight Center?

Ranked on the composite score, Edward J. Wollack, C. L. Bennett and A. Kogut lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Goddard Space Flight Center.

  1. 1 Edward J. Wollack · #83 worldwide 7.2k citations · 212 works
  2. 2 C. L. Bennett · #177 worldwide 7.4k citations · 119 works
  3. 3 A. Kogut · #1,477 worldwide 6.3k citations · 81 works
  4. 4 John C. Mather · #1,528 worldwide 2.1k citations · 101 works
  5. 5 G. Hinshaw · #1,678 worldwide 7.1k citations · 78 works
  6. 6 M. Limon · #2,786 worldwide 6.3k citations · 67 works
  7. 7 R. F. Silverberg · #3,264 worldwide 1.3k citations · 75 works
  8. 8 J. E. McEnery · #4,326 worldwide 1.7k citations · 67 works
  9. 9 J. P. Norris · #4,587 worldwide 1.4k citations · 74 works
  10. 10 S. Guiriec · #4,743 worldwide 2k citations · 70 works
All ranked researchers at Goddard Space Flight Center

Which keywords describe research at Goddard Space Flight Center?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Remote Sensing, Solar Wind, Climate Change, Solar System Abundances, Terrestrial Planets, Satellite Observations, Coronal Mass Ejections and Solar Dynamics Observatory.

▲ 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. Climate Change195▲ 4.1×70 topics
  2. Remote Sensing169▲ 7.8×33 topics
  3. Solar Wind156▲ 96×2 topics
  4. Solar System Abundances102▲ 120×1 topic
  5. Terrestrial Planets102▲ 120×1 topic
  6. Satellite Observations92▲ 54×3 topics
  7. Coronal Mass Ejections85▲ 131×1 topic
  8. Solar Dynamics Observatory85▲ 131×1 topic
  9. Hydrological Modeling75▲ 18×5 topics
  10. Electron Acceleration73▲ 62×2 topics
  11. Air Quality72▲ 22×6 topics
  12. Ionosphere71▲ 72×1 topic
  13. Magnetosphere71▲ 72×1 topic
  14. Mars65▲ 115×1 topic
  15. Martian Surface65▲ 115×1 topic
  16. Hydrological Cycle57▲ 34×2 topics
  17. Data Assimilation56▲ 21×4 topics
  18. Ozone Depletion56▲ 107×1 topic
  19. Stratospheric Water Vapor56▲ 107×1 topic
  20. Magnetic Fields53▲ 47×3 topics
  21. Accretion Disks53▲ 65×2 topics
  22. Sea Level Rise53▲ 24×3 topics
  23. Exoplanets51▲ 73×1 topic
  24. Stellar Astrophysics51▲ 73×1 topic
  25. Climate50▲ 33×2 topics
  26. Global Warming47▲ 6.5×11 topics
  27. Water Quality43▲ 6.2×8 topics
  28. Star Formation42▲ 46×2 topics
  29. Gravitational Waves42▲ 43×2 topics
  30. Ocean Circulation42▲ 18×3 topics
  31. Black Holes41▲ 24×3 topics
  32. Shale Gas38▲ 17×2 topics
  33. Hydrology38▲ 17×4 topics
  34. Emissions37▲ 11×4 topics
  35. Natural Gas37▲ 22×2 topics
  36. Validation37▲ 24×2 topics
  37. Hydraulic Fracturing37▲ 19×2 topics
  38. Atmospheric37▲ 42×1 topic
  39. Methane37▲ 42×1 topic
  40. Ice Nucleation36▲ 51×2 topics

Which research topics does Goddard Space Flight Center publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Astro and Planetary Science, Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics and Planetary Science and Exploration.

Astro and Planetary Science: 102 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 85 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…71Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 71 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Ex…65Planetary Science and Exploration: 65 fractional worksAtmospheric Ozone and Climate: 56 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 51 fractional worksAtmospheric and Environm…37Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics: 37 fractional worksAtmospheric aerosols and clouds: 35 fractional worksAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols: 34 fractional worksCalibration and Measurement Techniques: 32 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsAtmospheric ScienceGlobal and Planetary ChangeAerospace Engineering

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

  1. 1 Astro and Planetary ScienceAstronomy and Astrophysics 102 works
  2. 2 Solar and Space Plasma DynamicsAstronomy and Astrophysics 85 works
  3. 3 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamicsAstronomy and Astrophysics 71 works
  4. 4 Planetary Science and ExplorationAstronomy and Astrophysics 65 works
  5. 5 Atmospheric Ozone and ClimateAtmospheric Science 56 works
  6. 6 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studiesAstronomy and Astrophysics 51 works
  7. 7 Atmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsGlobal and Planetary Change 37 works
  8. 8 Atmospheric aerosols and cloudsGlobal and Planetary Change 35 works
  9. 9 Atmospheric chemistry and aerosolsAtmospheric Science 34 works
  10. 10 Calibration and Measurement TechniquesAerospace Engineering 32 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 available37.3%not open62.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors14.0%domestic only86.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Goddard Space Flight Center's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 24% 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 Greenbelt

All research institutions in Greenbelt

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.