29 missions in this study. 18,323 tracked publications and 591,462 citations over their lifetimes.
Studying the Sun and its influence across the solar system.
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
2929
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods
14,47514,475
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
167,927167,927
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods
1212
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
88
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods
967 (6.7%)967 (6.7%)
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
7878
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
37%37%
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
181181· 15 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
6161· 146 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
3434· 757 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
2525· 1,561 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
1515· 3,753 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
88· 7,307 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
22 of 29 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 ↑
ELFIN
$5.4M · 21.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 2020; TRACE
$104M · 3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 1998; FAST
$117M · 21.3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: June 1998; SAMPEX
$128M · 7 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 1993; SME
$150M · 14.9 months after science start
First top-10% paper: January 1983; RHESSI
$169M · 7.4 months after science start
First top-10% paper: November 2002; IRIS
$172M · 0.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 2013; IBEX
$209M · 6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 2009; AIM
$234M · 21.3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: March 2009; AMPTE-CCE
$242M · 8.5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 1985; IMAGE
$277M · 3.2 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 2000; THEMIS-ARTEMIS
$301M · 17.4 months after science start
First top-10% paper: August 2008; ICON
$340M · 13.6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: February 2021; TIMED
$491M · 22.3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: December 2003; ACE
$538M · 6.6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 1998; SMM
$581M · 11.6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: February 1981; Polar
$757M · 14.2 months after science start
First top-10% paper: May 1997; RBSP
$1.0B · 8.1 months after science start
First top-10% paper: July 2013; STEREO
$1.1B · 5.2 months after science start
First top-10% paper: April 2007; WIND
$1.4B · 3 months after science start
First top-10% paper: February 1995; SDO
$1.5B · 5 months after science start
First top-10% paper: October 2010; MMS
$1.7B · 6 months after science start
First top-10% paper: March 2016
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: 1,448 papers across 29 missions from $1.4M to $1.7B.
