Planetary Science

35 missions in this study. 15,706 tracked publications and 584,964 citations over their lifetimes.

Exploring planets, moons and small bodies in our solar system.

Research over time

Tracked publications Citations

Dashed: 2026 is not yet a full year.

Scope Papers 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
Missions35
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods10,910
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods153,651
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods14
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. Methods9
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods711 (6.5%)
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. Methods102
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. Methods41%
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. Methods200 · 11 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. Methods97 · 116 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. Methods45 · 561 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. Methods31 · 1,096 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. Methods17 · 2,878 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. Methods9 · 5,490 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

28 of 35 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 ↑

Lunar Prospector $131M · 7.5 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 1998; LCROSS $139M · 11.7 months after science start First top-10% paper: October 2010; DS-1 $315M · 42.2 months after science start First top-10% paper: May 2002; LADEE $378M · 25.4 months after science start First top-10% paper: January 2016; Genesis $411M · 13.5 months after science start First top-10% paper: January 2003; ODY $449M · 4.3 months after science start First top-10% paper: July 2002; Stardust $464M · 5 months after science start First top-10% paper: June 2004; NEOWISE $484M · 9 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 2014; NEAR Shoemaker $486M · 6 months after science start First top-10% paper: December 1997; MGS $550M · 0.8 months after science start First top-10% paper: April 1999; Mars Pathfinder $613M · 4.9 months after science start First top-10% paper: December 1997; Deep Impact (EPOXI) $624M · 4 months after science start First top-10% paper: October 2005; GRAIL $725M · 10.9 months after science start First top-10% paper: February 2013; Opportunity $756M · 4.2 months after science start First top-10% paper: June 2004; Spirit $756M · 6.9 months after science start First top-10% paper: August 2004; MESSENGER $778M · 4.9 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 2011; LRO $806M · 3.6 months after science start First top-10% paper: January 2010; PHX $869M · 4.2 months after science start First top-10% paper: October 2008; Dawn $883M · 4.5 months after science start First top-10% paper: December 2011; MAVEN $971M · 2.5 months after science start First top-10% paper: February 2015; New Horizons $1.2B · 7.5 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 2015; MRO $1.4B · 2.8 months after science start First top-10% paper: February 2007; InSight $1.4B · 0.2 months after science start First top-10% paper: December 2018; Juno $1.7B · 8.1 months after science start First top-10% paper: May 2017; Magellan $1.7B · 7.7 months after science start First top-10% paper: April 1991; MSL $4.0B · 0.9 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 2012; Galileo $4.6B · 0.8 months after science start First top-10% paper: January 1996; Cassini $7.6B · 5.6 months after science start First top-10% paper: September 2004

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: 1,091 papers across 35 missions from $0.6M to $7.6B.

Explore missions

Lifetime totals; Top-10% credit follows the scope above (Active Mission Window).
ImageCost: life-cycle cost including partner contributions, in 2025 dollars (NASA’s New Start Index). MethodsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methodsh-index: the largest h such that h papers have at least h citations each. It only grows with time, so older missions score higher. MethodsTop 10%: among the 10% most-cited papers from this division’s missions, ranked against papers published around the same time. MethodsTracked publications per yearStrip: tracked publications per year since the start of science operations. Methods
Galileo 1989Orbiter$4.6B1,57763,881115 42
Magellan 1989Orbiter$1.7B38214,02563 15
Mars Observer failed1992Orbiter$2.5B4583 0
Mars Pathfinder 1996Lander$613M1548,73955 11
MGS 1996Orbiter$550M1,50981,654134 69
NEAR Shoemaker 1996Orbiter$486M1587,22249 11
Cassini 1997Orbiter$7.6B3,410119,834131 175
DS-1 1998Flyby$315M571,71023 1
Lunar Prospector 1998Orbiter$131M29914,57967 6.0
MCO failed1998Orbiter$306M000 0
DS-2 failed1999Impactor$58M000 0
MPL failed1999Lander$306M000 0
Stardust 1999Sample Return$464M34715,21961 22
Genesis 2001Sample Return$411M723,82629 1
ODY 2001Orbiter$449M61328,09984 32
CONTOUR failed2002Flyby$297M000 0
Opportunity 2003Rover$756M33717,87071 31
Spirit 2003Rover$756M33516,60773 23
MESSENGER 2004Orbiter$778M76126,61782 43
Deep Impact (EPOXI) 2005Impactor$624M31412,03956 30
MRO 2005Orbiter$1.4B1,27345,39196 81
New Horizons 2006Flyby$1.2B44610,21151 39
Dawn 2007Orbiter$883M42513,48259 61
PHX 2007Lander$869M23710,25752 8.3
LCROSS 2009Impactor$139M572,91323 3.5
LRO 2009Orbiter$806M1,01128,99380 48
NEOWISE 2009Survey Observatory$484M1094,37933 1.8
GRAIL 2011Orbiter$725M1927,53546 10
Juno 2011Orbiter$1.7B82118,27761 73
MSL 2011Rover$4.0B1,10738,82395 139
LADEE 2013Orbiter$378M741,73425 1
MAVEN 2013Orbiter$971M94222,72168 56
InSight 2018Lander$1.4B3628,04143 58
MarCO 2018Flyby$24M1201 0
Q-PACE failed2021Orbiter$0.6M000 0