Planetary Science and Exploration
Planetary Science and Exploration is a research topic within Astronomy and Astrophysics. Science Explorer counts 54k research works in it since 1950. 18.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the exploration and study of Mars, including the Martian surface, planetary exploration missions, the search for water and signs of life, the Martian climate, minerals found on Mars, and the composition of the Martian atmosphere.
- Mars
- Martian Surface
- Planetary Exploration
- Water on Mars
- Martian Climate
- Mars Orbiter Missions
- Martian Minerals
- Life in Extreme Environments
- Surface Composition
- Martian Atmosphere
- Research works
- 54k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 10k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 18.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Planetary Science and Exploration research?
By volume, the United States and China publish the most (2.2k and 1.1k works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 2.2k works
- 2 China 1.1k works
- 3 France 492 works
- 4 Russia 344 works
- 5 Germany 332 works
- 6 United Kingdom 309 works
- 7 Japan 300 works
- 8 Italy 287 works
- 9 India 254 works
- 10 Canada 143 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Planetary Science and Exploration research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Jet Propulsion Laboratory publishes the most Planetary Science and Exploration research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Planetary Science Institute.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Jet Propulsion LaboratoryUnited States 156 works
- 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 96 works
- 3 Planetary Science InstituteUnited States 94 works
- 4 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)Germany 68 works
- 5 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 66 works
- 6 Goddard Space Flight CenterUnited States 65 works
- 7 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 53 works
- 8 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryUnited States 53 works
- 9 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 52 works
- 10 University of ArizonaUnited States 49 works
Who are the leading researchers in Planetary Science and Exploration?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Planetary Science and Exploration include E. L. Wright and Edward J. Wollack.
- 1 E. L. Wright United States 9.3k citations
- 2 Edward J. Wollack United States 7.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Planetary Science and Exploration research done?
The largest centres of Planetary Science and Exploration research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Moscow (Russia), Pasadena (United States) and Paris (France). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in North Laurel, Noordwijk-Binnen and Greenbelt.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- North LaurelUS · 53.1 works130×
- Noordwijk-BinnenNL · 29.5 works106×
- GreenbeltUS · 65.9 works104×
- PasadenaUS · 203.0 works70×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Planetary Science and Exploration than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Planetary Science and Exploration?
Among universities, judged by research, Macau University of Science and Technology, Samara National Research University and University of Arizona score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macau University of Science and TechnologyMacau | 68.0 | 17.7% | 18.9× | 27 | +314.4% |
| 2 | Samara National Research UniversityRussia | 64.3 | 31.3% | 13.2× | 11 | +327.0% |
| 3 | University of ArizonaUnited States | 57.3 | 21.8% | 11.8× | 49 | -3.1% |
| 4 | Politecnico di MilanoItaly | 56.0 | 22.6% | 6.5× | 31 | +162.6% |
| 5 | California Institute of TechnologyUnited States | 55.6 | 24.1% | 24.6× | 38 | -58.7% |
| 6 | University of Colorado BoulderUnited States | 54.0 | 17.2% | 15.8× | 40 | +16.4% |
| 7 | Université Paris Sciences et LettresFrance | 53.1 | 22.5% | 12.6× | 8 | — |
| 8 | Aerospace Information Research InstituteChina | 52.1 | 27.4% | 11.3× | 9 | — |
| 9 | York UniversityCanada | 51.7 | 31.2% | 6.0× | 14 | +99.8% |
| 10 | University of California, Santa CruzUnited States | 51.0 | 26.4% | 11.0× | 13 | -24.0% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Planetary Science and Exploration research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2015. The fastest-growing topics are Planetary Science and Exploration.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.