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Research facility · Pasadena · United States

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

In research, Jet Propulsion Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#402 of 12,888 worldwide), Astronomy and Astrophysics (#14 of 443 worldwide) and Earth and Planetary Sciences (#39 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 41.1× its share of world research.

jpl.nasa.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#739
of 28,054 · #130 all time
Rank in United States
#147
of 4,192
Research works
38k
▼ 21% vs 2013–17
Citations
926k
24.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
22%
world 28%

What is Jet Propulsion Laboratory 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 #402 of 12,888 19.8%2,375 #68
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #14 of 443 22.0%535 #4
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #39 of 1,209 22.5%347 #8
Atmospheric ScienceSubfield #31 of 301 22.1%202 #6
EngineeringField #816 of 6,636 17.8%767 #59
Environmental ScienceField #502 of 3,551 24.2%286 #122
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #127 of 795 27.1%337 #9
Physics and AstronomyField #291 of 1,646 20.8%715 #97
OceanographySubfield #45 of 156 22.7%86 #8
Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield #181 of 535 23.5%127 #56

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Jet Propulsion Laboratory 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#68 #402
  2. Astronomy and Astrophysics#4 #14
  3. Earth and Planetary Sciences#8 #39
  4. Atmospheric Science#6 #31
  5. Engineering#59 #816
  6. Environmental Science#122 #502
  7. Aerospace Engineering#9 #127
  8. Physics and Astronomy#97 #291
  9. Oceanography#8 #45
  10. Global and Planetary Change#56 #181
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 Jet Propulsion Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 41.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 534.6 works41×
  2. InstrumentationSubfield · 32.2 works26×
  3. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 202.2 works18×
  4. Physics and AstronomyField · 715.1 works13×
  5. OceanographySubfield · 85.7 works12×
  6. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 336.8 works12×
  7. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 346.8 works8.8×
  8. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 127.2 works6.7×
← 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: 0.10× its world share, 11 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.18× its world share, 24 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.07× its world share, 3 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.29× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.89× its world share, 35 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.91× its world share, 177 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 8.82× its world share, 347 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.20× its world share, 5 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.04× its world share, 767 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.30× its world share, 286 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.36× its world share, 31 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.31× its world share, 9 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 12.83× its world share, 715 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 28 worksMedicineNursing: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 6 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.09× its world share, 7 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.86× its world share, 21 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.09× its world share, 5 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.05× its world share, 4 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 20 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 12.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, Peter Eisenhardt, Michael E. Ressler and M.K. Simon lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

  1. 1 Peter Eisenhardt United States · #2,753 worldwide 2.2k citations · 107 works
  2. 2 Michael E. Ressler United States · #4,189 worldwide 1.5k citations · 68 works
  3. 3 M.K. Simon United States · #5,127 worldwide 1.3k citations · 100 works
  4. 4 Amy Mainzer United States · #6,548 worldwide 1.3k citations · 69 works
  5. 5 M. A. Janssen United States · #10,780 worldwide 879 citations · 73 works
  6. 6 D. Divsalar United States · #14,794 worldwide 928 citations · 86 works
  7. 7 Kiri L. Wagstaff United States · #15,211 worldwide 744 citations · 58 works
  8. 8 P. A. Rosen United States · #16,275 worldwide 904 citations · 100 works
  9. 9 A. E. Niell United States · #17,706 worldwide 331 citations · 56 works
  10. 10 M. D. Seiffert United States · #21,767 worldwide 944 citations · 58 works
All ranked researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at Jet Propulsion Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Remote Sensing, Climate Change, Mars, Martian Surface, Solar System Abundances, Terrestrial Planets, Hydrological Modeling and Data Assimilation.

▲ 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 Change236▲ 3.5×69 topics
  2. Remote Sensing187▲ 6.1×34 topics
  3. Mars156▲ 194×1 topic
  4. Martian Surface156▲ 194×1 topic
  5. Solar System Abundances149▲ 123×1 topic
  6. Terrestrial Planets149▲ 123×1 topic
  7. Hydrological Modeling108▲ 18×5 topics
  8. Data Assimilation97▲ 25×4 topics
  9. Satellite Observations92▲ 38×3 topics
  10. Ocean Circulation72▲ 22×3 topics
  11. Sea Level Rise72▲ 22×3 topics
  12. Risk Assessment60▲ 3.5×11 topics
  13. Validation58▲ 26×2 topics
  14. Global Warming58▲ 5.6×11 topics
  15. Hydrological Cycle52▲ 22×2 topics
  16. Orbit Determination49▲ 46×2 topics
  17. Exoplanets48▲ 48×1 topic
  18. Stellar Astrophysics48▲ 48×1 topic
  19. Thermal Analysis48▲ 15×3 topics
  20. CubeSat47▲ 101×1 topic
  21. small satellite47▲ 101×1 topic
  22. Air Quality45▲ 9.8×5 topics
  23. Thermodynamic Modeling42▲ 15×3 topics
  24. Shale Gas41▲ 13×2 topics
  25. Hydrology41▲ 13×4 topics
  26. Geodetic Measurements40▲ 15×2 topics
  27. Emissions39▲ 7.7×5 topics
  28. Ensemble Kalman Filter38▲ 15×2 topics
  29. Solar Wind38▲ 16×2 topics
  30. Carbon Dioxide38▲ 9.7×3 topics
  31. Natural Gas37▲ 16×2 topics
  32. Hydraulic Fracturing37▲ 13×2 topics
  33. Atmospheric37▲ 30×1 topic
  34. Methane37▲ 30×1 topic
  35. Soil Moisture37▲ 21×4 topics
  36. Boundary Layer36▲ 12×4 topics
  37. Pose Estimation36▲ 13×2 topics
  38. Spatial Variability36▲ 23×2 topics
  39. Global Monitoring36▲ 62×1 topic
  40. Microwave Retrieval36▲ 62×1 topic

Which research topics does Jet Propulsion Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Planetary Science and Exploration, Astro and Planetary Science, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies and Spacecraft Design and Technology.

Planetary Science and Ex…156Planetary Science and Exploration: 156 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Scie…149Astro and Planetary Science: 149 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 48 fractional worksSpacecraft Design and Technology: 47 fractional worksAtmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics: 37 fractional worksSoil Moisture and Remote Sensing: 36 fractional worksAtmospheric Ozone and Climate: 35 fractional worksSpace Satellite Systems and Control: 35 fractional worksSpacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies: 35 fractional worksMeteorological Phenomena and Simulations: 35 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsAerospace EngineeringGlobal and Planetary ChangeEnvironmental Engineering1 others

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

  1. 1 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 156 works
  2. 2 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 149 works
  3. 3 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 48 works
  4. 4 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 47 works
  5. 5 Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics Global and Planetary Change 37 works
  6. 6 Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing Environmental Engineering 36 works
  7. 7 Atmospheric Ozone and Climate Atmospheric Science 35 works
  8. 8 Space Satellite Systems and Control Aerospace Engineering 35 works
  9. 9 Spacecraft and Cryogenic Technologies Aerospace Engineering 35 works
  10. 10 Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations Atmospheric Science 35 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 available22.4%not open77.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.5%domestic only87.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Jet Propulsion Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 21% 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 Pasadena

All research institutions in Pasadena

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.