Earth Science

Earth Science observes our planet from above, studying our air, oceans, land, and ice, often for decades, with exquisitely calibrated instrumentation.

Scope Active Mission WindowActivePapers published from the first full month after science operations begin through two years after the mission ends. Citations are counted through the third calendar year after each paper appears. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. Methods

Publications and citations by year

Publications per yearCumulative citations

Citations per $100M, by missionEach square is a mission at its cost and its citations per $100M, both on log scales. The running average combines mission rates across a broad range of nearby costs, giving closer missions more weight. Missions with no citations remain included and sit on the bottom row. Shading shows a 95% interval for the average at each cost. Methods

Each square is a mission at its cost and its citations per $100M, both on log scales. The running average combines mission rates across a broad range of nearby costs, giving closer missions more weight. Missions with no citations remain included and sit on the bottom row. Shading shows a 95% interval for the average at each cost.

Missions

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Missions — Lifetime, earliest launch first
ImageLife-cycle cost: NASA’s reported cost to build, launch, and operate a mission through its prime mission, plus documented partner contributions, in 2025 dollars. Extended missions are not included. MethodsTracked publications: peer-reviewed papers we found that name the mission or its instruments in their titles, abstracts, or keywords. Papers that used the data without naming it are missed. MethodsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods
Dynamics Explorer $421M, 19811981Orbiter$421M79733,537
Landsat 4 $1.4B, 19821982Orbiter$1.4B1886,712
Landsat 5 $1.4B, 19841984Orbiter$1.4B99631,071
ERBS $164M, 19841984Orbiter$164M83736,283
UARS $2.1B, 19911991Orbiter$2.1B1,34647,371
TOPEX/Poseidon $1.5B, 19921992Orbiter$1.5B1,63767,195
Landsat 6 Failure $604M, 19931993Orbiter$604M00
TOMS-EP $184M, 19961996Orbiter$184M1415,405
TRMM $2.4B, 19971997Orbiter$2.4B3,024130,321
Landsat 7 $1.1B, 19991999Orbiter$1.1B4,132188,038
Terriers Failure $26M, 19991999Orbiter$26M00
QuikSCAT $188M, 19991999Orbiter$188M82627,116
Terra $3.8B, 19991999Orbiter$3.8B15,039582,811
ACRIMSAT $36M, 19991999Orbiter$36M12431
EO-1 $404M, 20002000Orbiter$404M85033,092
GRACE $243M, 20022002Orbiter$243M4,697174,666
Aqua $2.3B, 20022002Orbiter$2.3B12,182452,573
ICESat $375M, 20032003Orbiter$375M78239,074
SORCE $229M, 20032003Orbiter$229M1546,445
Aura $1.9B, 20042004Orbiter$1.9B2,975100,603
CALIPSO $505M, 20062006Orbiter$505M2,37775,661
Cloudsat $359M, 20062006Orbiter$359M98129,489
OCO Failure $443M, 20092009Orbiter$443M00
Glory Failure $688M, 20112011Orbiter$688M00
Suomi NPP $1.5B, 20112011Orbiter$1.5B87419,305
Landsat 8 $1.3B, 20132013Orbiter$1.3B6,712159,221
IPEX $1.4M, 20132013Orbiter$1.4M00
GPM $1.6B, 20142014Orbiter$1.6B2,84554,581
OCO-2 $687M, 20142014Orbiter$687M70620,110
GRIFEX $2.6M, 20152015Orbiter$2.6M00
SMAP $1.3B, 20152015Orbiter$1.3B1,84641,423
DSCOVR $503M, 20152015In-Situ Probe$503M1982,484
RAVAN $4.8M, 20162016Orbiter$4.8M227
CYGNSS $212M, 20162016Orbiter$212M4908,414
IceCube $5.7M, 20172017Orbiter$5.7M114
MiRaTA Failure $5.5M, 20172017Orbiter$5.5M00
CubeRRT $7.1M, 20182018Orbiter$7.1M221
RainCube $9.1M, 20182018Orbiter$9.1M7182
TEMPEST-D $11M, 20182018Orbiter$11M984
ICESat-2 $1.5B, 20182018Orbiter$1.5B1,27919,878
CSIM-FD $13M, 20182018Orbiter$13M195
HARP $5.3M, 20192019Orbiter$5.3M10
CIRiS-BATC $6.2M, 20192019Orbiter$6.2M11

How we found the papers, counted citations, and set costs: Methods.

Institutional contributionsThe institutions SciX lists for each paper’s authors, as printed on the paper, located through the Research Organization Registry. A square counts a paper once, however many of its authors worked there. Methods

Every tracked publication to date, each counted once however many Earth Science missions it names.

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