40 missions in this study. 50,650 tracked publications and 1,605,946 citations over their lifetimes.
Observing Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice from space.
Research over time
Tracked publicationsCitations
Dashed: 2026 is not yet a full year.
ScopePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods/Papers published from the first full month after science operations begin through 2 years after the prime mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods/Every tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. Methods
Key measures
Active Mission Window
Missions
4040
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods
38,47038,470
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods
435,978435,978
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods
1111
Median citations per publicationMedian citations: the middle paper’s citation count in the selected scope; half the papers have more, half fewer. A single blockbuster sways it less than the mean. Methods
77
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods
3,240 (8.4%)3,240 (8.4%)
h-indexh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. Methods
120120
Citations held by the top 10% of papersThe share of all citations in the selected scope that went to the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions. The higher it is, the more attention concentrates on a few papers. Methods
41%41%
Percentile citation cutoffs · Active Mission Window
Top 0.1%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
174174· 39 papers at or above
Top 1%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
7575· 393 papers at or above
Top 5%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
3636· 2,024 papers at or above
Top 10%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
2626· 3,885 papers at or above
Top 25%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
1414· 9,952 papers at or above
Top 50%Cutoff: the fewest citations a paper needs to rank in the top share named, among every paper from this division’s missions in the selected scope, ties included. The count beside it is the papers at or above that line. Not adjusted for publication year. Methods
77· 19,795 papers at or above
Highly cited papers per missionTop 10%: among the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions, ranked against papers published around the same time. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. A failed mission counts as zero and is marked with a slash; a mission whose output could not be measured is left out, not counted as zero. Methods
Top /
Papers from each mission that rank in the division’s top 10% for their era.
Time to a first top-10% paperFirst top-10% paper: the earliest-published paper that ranks in its division’s top 10% today, measured from the start of science operations. A paper dated before that start was added by hand and comes from cruise or flyby science. A failed mission counts as zero and is marked with a slash; a mission whose output could not be measured is left out, not counted as zero. Cost: life-cycle cost including partner contributions, in 2025 dollars (NASA’s New Start Index). Methods
27 of 40 missions have a recorded time to a first top-10% paper and a known positive cost in this view.
Each square is a mission: higher costs more; farther left reached its first top-10% paper sooner after science operations began.
Adjusted mission cost · log scale ↑
RainCube
$9.1M · 24.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: September 2020; CSIM-FD
$13M · 29.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: June 2021; ERBS
$164M · 18.8 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 1986; TOMS-EP
$184M · 25.3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: September 1998; QuikSCAT
$188M · 12.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 2000; CYGNSS
$212M · 16.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 2018; SORCE
$229M · 14.2 months after science start
First top-10% paper: April 2004; Cloudsat
$359M · 10.1 months after science start
First top-10% paper: March 2007; ICESat
$375M · 18.6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 2004; EO-1
$404M · 31.3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: 2003; Dynamics Explorer
$421M · 12.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: September 1982; DSCOVR
$503M · 23.2 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 2017; OCO-2
$687M · 4.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: January 2015; Landsat 7
$1.1B · 24.1 months after science start
First top-10% paper: 2001; Landsat 8
$1.3B · 6.1 months after science start
First top-10% paper: December 2013; SMAP
$1.3B · 1.7 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 2015; Landsat 4
$1.4B · 53 months after science start
First top-10% paper: 1987; Landsat 5
$1.4B · 39.8 months after science start
First top-10% paper: 1987; ICESat-2
$1.5B · 1.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: November 2018; TOPEX/Poseidon
$1.5B · 25.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: December 1994; Suomi NPP
$1.5B · 6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: November 2014; GPM
$1.6B · 1.8 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 2014; Aura
$1.9B · 10.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 2005; UARS
$2.1B · 3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: January 1992; Aqua
$2.3B · 0.7 months after science start
First top-10% paper: June 2002; TRMM
$2.4B · 5.7 months after science start
First top-10% paper: June 1998; Terra
$3.8B · 2.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 2000
Running total of all top / papers, contributed by missionTop 10%: among the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions, ranked against papers published around the same time. Missions sit at their own cost on a log scale. The line is the running total of the division’s top-10% papers, adding missions from cheapest to costliest. The dashed line at $150M is an editorial comparison point, not an inferred scientific threshold. Cost: life-cycle cost including partner contributions, in 2025 dollars (NASA’s New Start Index). Methods
Running total of the division’s top-10% papers, adding missions from cheapest to costliest: 3,847 papers across 40 missions from $1.4M to $3.8B.
