Planetary Science

MESSENGER

761 tracked publications and 26,617 citations from 2008–2026. MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging. Launched 2004. Life-cycle cost: $778M in 2025 dollars. Active Mission Window May 1, 2011 to May 1, 2017: 301 publications, 43 top-10% credit.

Orbiter · h-index 82 · 62 papers with 100+ citations · prime mission ended 2012

Lifetime

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 · papers May 1, 2011 to May 1, 2017
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods301
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods4,938
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods16
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. Methods11
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods10 (3.3%)
Top-10% creditTop 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. Methods43 · 3.9% of division
Top-1% creditTop 1%: among the 1% most-cited papers from this division’s missions within the selected window. Not adjusted for publication year. A paper naming several missions is split evenly among the missions in this division that claim it, so counts can be fractional. Methods2 · 1.8% of division
Lifetime indices · every tracked publication to date, in any scope
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. Methods82
g-indexg-index: the largest g for which the g most-cited papers together hold at least g² citations. Like the h-index, but it lets the most-cited papers count for more. Methods118
m-index, as of October 4, 2026m-index: a mission’s h-index divided by the years since its first peer-reviewed paper. It falls every 1 January even when nothing else changes, so it belongs to the date shown; it also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods4.3
toritori (total research impact, from ADS): for every paper citing one of the mission’s papers, 1 divided by the citing paper’s reference count times the cited paper’s author count, summed, with self-citations removed. It favors citations from papers with short reference lists and from outside the mission’s own authors. Computed over the tracked citation graph, which can be slightly incomplete. Methods70
riqriq (research impact quotient): 1,000 times the square root of tori, divided by the years since the mission’s first paper. A rate, not a total, so it does not keep growing with age the way the h-index and tori do. Methods440

Tracked publications

  1. The Major-Element Composition of Mercury’s Surface from MESSENGER X-ray Spectrometry

    Nittler, Larry R., 2011, Sci

    431 citations

  2. The Global Magnetic Field of Mercury from MESSENGER Orbital Observations

    Anderson, Brian J., 2011, Sci

    281 citations

  3. Gravity Field and Internal Structure of Mercury from MESSENGER

    Smith, David E., 2012, Sci

    267 citations

  4. Flood Volcanism in the Northern High Latitudes of Mercury Revealed by MESSENGER

    Head, James W., 2011, Sci

    246 citations

  5. MESSENGER Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in Mercury’s Magnetosphere

    Slavin, James A., 2009, Sci

    240 citations

  6. The curious case of Mercury's internal structure

    Hauck, Steven A., 2013, JGRE

    240 citations

  7. Report of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements: 2015

    Archinal, B. A., 2018, CeMDA

    234 citations

  8. The distribution and origin of smooth plains on Mercury

    Denevi, Brett W., 2013, JGRE

    232 citations

  9. The Evolution of Mercury’s Crust: A Global Perspective from MESSENGER

    Denevi, Brett W., 2009, Sci

    224 citations

  10. Mercury's magnetopause and bow shock from MESSENGER Magnetometer observations

    Winslow, Reka M., 2013, JGRA

    215 citations

  11. Radioactive Elements on Mercury’s Surface from MESSENGER: Implications for the Planet’s Formation and Evolution

    Peplowski, Patrick N., 2011, Sci

    211 citations

  12. Mercury's global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

    Byrne, Paul K., 2014, NatGe

    183 citations

  13. Topography of the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury from MESSENGER Laser Altimetry

    Zuber, Maria T., 2012, Sci

    182 citations

  14. Volcanism on Mercury: Evidence from the First MESSENGER Flyby

    Head, James W., 2008, Sci

    180 citations

  15. Reflectance and Color Variations on Mercury: Regolith Processes and Compositional Heterogeneity

    Robinson, Mark S., 2008, Sci

    176 citations

  16. MESSENGER Observations of Extreme Loading and Unloading of Mercury’s Magnetic Tail

    Slavin, James A., 2010, Sci

    173 citations

  17. Longitudinal and Radial Dependence of Solar Energetic Particle Peak Intensities: STEREO, ACE, SOHO, GOES, and MESSENGER Observations

    Lario, D., 2013, ApJ

    173 citations

  18. Evidence for Water Ice Near Mercury’s North Pole from MESSENGER Neutron Spectrometer Measurements

    Lawrence, David J., 2013, Sci

    173 citations

  19. Evidence for geochemical terranes on Mercury: Global mapping of major elements with MESSENGER's X-Ray Spectrometer

    Weider, Shoshana Z., 2015, E&PSL

    172 citations

  20. The Structure of Mercury’s Magnetic Field from MESSENGER’s First Flyby

    Anderson, Brian J., 2008, Sci

    165 citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Astrophysics Data System (ADS) for peer-reviewed articles naming MESSENGER in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces. SciX is ADS’s current interface.

((((=abs:"Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging" OR (abs:MESSENGER AND (abs:Mercury OR abs:hermean OR abs:mission OR abs:probe OR abs:spacecraft)) OR =abs:"Mercury Dual Imaging System" OR =abs:"MESSENGER X-Ray Spectrometer" OR =abs:"MESSENGER Gamma-Ray Spectrometer" OR =abs:"MESSENGER Neutron Spectrometer" OR =abs:"MESSENGER Magnetometer" OR =abs:"Mercury Laser Altimeter" OR =abs:"MESSENGER Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer")) OR =abs:"Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer" OR ((abs:MASCS OR abs:MDIS OR abs:FIPS OR abs:EPPS OR =abs:"Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer") AND (abs:Mercury OR abs:hermean OR abs:MESSENGER)) OR facility:MESSENGER)) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2011-05 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "AIASJ" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NewSc" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Added after review (69)

  1. MESSENGER Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in Mercury’s Magnetosphere Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  2. The Evolution of Mercury’s Crust: A Global Perspective from MESSENGER Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  3. Volcanism on Mercury: Evidence from the First MESSENGER Flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  4. Reflectance and Color Variations on Mercury: Regolith Processes and Compositional Heterogeneity Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  5. MESSENGER Observations of Extreme Loading and Unloading of Mercury’s Magnetic Tail Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's third Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  6. Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  7. The Structure of Mercury’s Magnetic Field from MESSENGER’s First Flyby Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  8. Geology of the Caloris Basin, Mercury: A View from MESSENGER Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  9. Return to Mercury: A Global Perspective on MESSENGER’s First Mercury Flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  10. The optical effects of small iron particles that darken but do not redden: Evidence of intense space weathering on Mercury Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  11. Anomalous Orbital-Energy Changes Observed during Spacecraft Flybys of Earth Uses Doppler tracking of MESSENGER's Earth flyby, among other spacecraft flybys. Decision 🤖
  12. The tectonics of Mercury: The view after MESSENGER's first flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  13. Explosive volcanic eruptions on Mercury: Eruption conditions, magma volatile content, and implications for interior volatile abundances Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  14. Mercury Cratering Record Viewed from MESSENGER’s First Flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  15. MESSENGER Observations of the Composition of Mercury’s Ionized Exosphere and Plasma Environment Uses plasma spectrometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  16. Spectroscopic Observations of Mercury’s Surface Reflectance During MESSENGER’s First Mercury Flyby Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  17. Volcanism on Mercury: Evidence from the first MESSENGER flyby for extrusive and explosive activity and the volcanic origin of plains Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  18. Mercury’s magnetospheric magnetic field after the first two MESSENGER flybys Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  19. Evidence for Young Volcanism on Mercury from the Third MESSENGER Flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's third Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  20. Caloris impact basin: Exterior geomorphology, stratigraphy, morphometry, radial sculpture, and smooth plains deposits Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  21. Observations of ion cyclotron waves in the solar wind near 0.3 AU Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's cruise to Mercury. Decision 🤖
  22. Multispectral images of Mercury from the first MESSENGER flyby: Analysis of global and regional color trends Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  23. The Magnetic Field of Mercury Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  24. MESSENGER Observations of Mercury’s Exosphere: Detection of Magnesium and Distribution of Constituents Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  25. Mercury’s Exosphere: Observations During MESSENGER’s First Mercury Flyby Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  26. Exposure of spectrally distinct material by impact craters on Mercury: Implications for global stratigraphy Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  27. Mercury’s magnetosphere-solar wind interaction for northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field: Hybrid simulation results Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  28. A solar storm observed from the Sun to Venus using the STEREO, Venus Express, and MESSENGER spacecraft Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's cruise to Mercury. Decision 🤖
  29. Mercury’s Complex Exosphere: Results from MESSENGER’s Third Flyby Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's third Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  30. Modeling of the magnetosphere of Mercury at the time of the first MESSENGER flyby Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  31. MESSENGER observations of large flux transfer events at Mercury Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  32. Emplacement and tectonic deformation of smooth plains in the Caloris basin, Mercury Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  33. Nature of opaque components on Mercury: Insights into a Mercurian magma ocean Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's 2008 Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  34. Pit-floor craters on Mercury: Evidence of near-surface igneous activity Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  35. Identification and measurement of neutron-absorbing elements on Mercury’s surface Uses neutron spectrometer data from MESSENGER's Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  36. The morphology of Mercury’s Caloris basin as seen in MESSENGER stereo topographic models Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's 2008 Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  37. Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves along the dusk-side boundary of Mercury's magnetosphere during MESSENGER's third flyby Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's third Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  38. Evolution of the Rembrandt Impact Basin on Mercury Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  39. MESSENGER observations of Mercury's magnetosphere during northward IMF Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  40. Monte Carlo modeling of sodium in Mercury’s exosphere during the first two MESSENGER flybys Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  41. Evidence for intrusive activity on Mercury from the first MESSENGER flyby Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  42. MESSENGER and Venus Express observations of the solar wind interaction with Venus Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's Venus flyby. Decision 🤖
  43. Modeling Mercury's internal magnetic field with smooth inversions Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  44. Whole-disk spectrophotometric properties of Mercury: Synthesis of MESSENGER and ground-based observations Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  45. The equatorial shape and gravity field of Mercury from MESSENGER flybys 1 and 2 Uses laser altimeter data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  46. Laser Altimeter Observations from MESSENGER’s First Mercury Flyby Uses laser altimeter data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  47. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at Mercury: An assessment Uses magnetometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  48. Constraints on Mercury’s Na exosphere: Combined MESSENGER and ground-based data Uses MASCS spectrometer data from MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby. Decision 🤖
  49. The apparent lack of lunar-like swirls on Mercury: Implications for the formation of lunar swirls and for the agent of space weathering Uses MDIS camera data from MESSENGER's Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖
  50. Accommodation of lithospheric shortening on Mercury from altimetric profiles of ridges and lobate scarps measured during MESSENGER flybys 1 and 2 Uses laser altimeter data from MESSENGER's first two Mercury flybys. Decision 🤖

Removed after review (13)

  1. Innovations in plasma sensors Review of plasma sensor design using MESSENGER's FIPS as a hardware case study. Decision 🤖
  2. High-speed scientific spacecraft launches with commercial launch vehicles Launch vehicle study for future fast missions; names MESSENGER only as a past example. Decision 🤖
  3. Planetary science: Mercury's mysteries start to unfold News & Views commentary on other papers; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  4. Icarus: In-situ monitoring of the surface degradation on a near-Sun asteroid Concept for a proposed near-Sun asteroid mission; names MESSENGER as design heritage. Decision 🤖
  5. Detecting negative ions on board small satellites Proposes a CubeSat instrument adapted from MESSENGER's FIPS; reports no results. Decision 🤖
  6. BepiColombo set to probe Mercury's mysteries News article; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  7. 2018PNAS..115.8907L Merely mentions ice on Mercury and does not acknowledge MESSENGER results. Decision 👨
  8. Thermal Effects on Camera Focal Length in Messenger Star Calibration and Orbital Imaging Duplicate record of 2018ISPAr42.3..103B (same paper). Decision 🤖
  9. High-Resolution Topography of Mercury from Messenger Orbital Stereo Imaging ─ the Southern Hemisphere Quadrangles Duplicate record of 2018ISPAr42.3.1389P (same paper). Decision 🤖
  10. 2007SSRv..131....1D Foreword to a journal special issue; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  11. 2007SSRv..131...41H Review of Mercury geology before MESSENGER; names the mission only as future work. Decision 🤖
  12. 2007SSRv..131..161D Review of Mercury's exosphere from earlier data; uses no MESSENGER data. Decision 🤖
  13. 2007SSRv..131..105Z Review of Mercury geophysics before MESSENGER; anticipates its results but uses no data. Decision 🤖