Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life is a research topic within Astronomy and Astrophysics. Science Explorer counts 24k research works in it since 1950. 9.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence, including topics such as astrobiology, SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), galactic habitable zones, global catastrophic risks, the Fermi Paradox, planetary biology, technosignatures, and space exploration.
- Extraterrestrial Life
- Astrobiology
- SETI
- Galactic Habitable Zone
- Intelligent Life
- Global Catastrophic Risks
- Fermi Paradox
- Planetary Biology
- Technosignatures
- Space Exploration
- Research works
- 24k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 2.2k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 9.1% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +30% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (1.3k and 413 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 1.3k works
- 2 United Kingdom 413 works
- 3 China 249 works
- 4 France 242 works
- 5 India 202 works
- 6 Germany 195 works
- 7 Italy 189 works
- 8 Russia 153 works
- 9 Australia 152 works
- 10 Canada 128 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 Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Jet Propulsion Laboratory publishes the most Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research, followed by University of Oxford and Arizona State University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Jet Propulsion LaboratoryUnited States 26 works
- 2 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 26 works
- 3 Arizona State UniversityUnited States 20 works
- 4 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 19 works
- 5 University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom 17 works
- 6 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States 16 works
- 7 University of ArizonaUnited States 16 works
- 8 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 15 works
- 9 Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States 15 works
- 10 Planetary Science InstituteUnited States 15 works
Who are the leading researchers in Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life include S. W. Hawking, Garrett Hardin and Andrei Linde.
- 1 S. W. Hawking United Kingdom 4.5k citations
- 2 Garrett Hardin United States 4.4k citations
- 3 Andrei Linde United States 4.2k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research done?
The largest centres of Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), London (United Kingdom), Paris (France) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Pasadena.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- PasadenaUS · 39.3 works21×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life?
Among universities, judged by research, Swinburne University of Technology, University of Bonn and University of Limerick 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 | Swinburne University of TechnologyAustralia | 57.7 | 4.1% | 11.4× | 13 | +253.8% |
| 2 | University of BonnGermany | 54.4 | 22.0% | 6.3× | 9 | — |
| 3 | University of LimerickIreland | 53.9 | 7.5% | 18.8× | 13 | — |
| 4 | University of OxfordUnited Kingdom | 53.8 | 13.7% | 4.7× | 26 | -22.6% |
| 5 | University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom | 52.6 | 7.7% | 4.1× | 19 | +245.7% |
| 6 | Arizona State UniversityUnited States | 50.6 | 9.8% | 6.9× | 20 | +27.2% |
| 7 | University of ExeterUnited Kingdom | 48.7 | 19.2% | 5.0× | 9 | +64.8% |
| 8 | California Institute of TechnologyUnited States | 48.5 | 18.4% | 8.4× | 9 | -61.7% |
| 9 | Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States | 47.8 | 14.7% | 5.7× | 15 | -12.3% |
| 10 | University of California, BerkeleyUnited States | 46.0 | 14.2% | 4.4× | 16 | +27.1% |
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 Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 30% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life.
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.