Planetary Science

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Orbiter · Directed · Agency-led · Launched on August 12, 2005 · Extended Mission · LCC: $763M/$1.4B (2025 $)Life-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. Methods · Wikipedia

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. For MRO, papers published December 1, 2006 to January 1, 2024. Methods LifetimeLifetimeEvery tracked publication to date, with every citation to date. For MRO, papers published from 2007 to November 3, 2026. Methods
Tracked publicationsTracked 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. Methods1,285
CitationsCitations: every citation these publications have drawn to date. Older missions have had longer to collect them. Methods46,266
Citation indices
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. Methods97
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. Methods165
m-indexm-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; the figure shown is as of November 3, 2026. It also discounts the long operating life that larger missions paid for. Methods4.8
toritori (total research impact, from SciX): 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. Always over every tracked publication to date, whichever scope is chosen. Methods203
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. Like tori, always over every tracked publication to date. Methods677

Publications and citations by year (lifetime)

Publications per yearCumulative citations

Institutional contributions (lifetime)The 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

Loading the map…

Tracked publications over the lifetime (1,285)

All publications CSV · JSON

  1. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)

    McEwen, Alfred S., 2007, JGRE

    1,260 lifetime citations

  2. Context Camera Investigation on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Malin, Michael C., 2007, JGRE

    969 lifetime citations

  3. Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

    Murchie, S., 2007, JGRE

    798 lifetime citations

  4. Hydrated silicate minerals on Mars observed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM instrument

    Mustard, John F., 2008, Natur

    722 lifetime citations

  5. Orbital Identification of Carbonate-Bearing Rocks on Mars

    Ehlmann, Bethany L., 2008, Sci

    629 lifetime citations

  6. Identification of hydrated silicate minerals on Mars using MRO-CRISM: Geologic context near Nili Fossae and implications for aqueous alteration

    Ehlmann, Bethany L., 2009, JGRE

    501 lifetime citations

  7. Hydrous minerals on Mars as seen by the CRISM and OMEGA imaging spectrometers: Updated global view

    Carter, J., 2013, JGRE

    448 lifetime citations

  8. Eight-year climatology of dust optical depth on Mars

    Montabone, L., 2015, Icar

    437 lifetime citations

  9. Seasonal Flows on Warm Martian Slopes

    McEwen, Alfred S., 2011, Sci

    421 lifetime citations

  10. A synthesis of Martian aqueous mineralogy after 1 Mars year of observations from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Murchie, Scott L., 2009, JGRE

    420 lifetime citations

  11. Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars

    Ojha, Lujendra, 2015, NatGe

    392 lifetime citations

  12. Phyllosilicate Diversity and Past Aqueous Activity Revealed at Mawrth Vallis, Mars

    Bishop, Janice L., 2008, Sci

    381 lifetime citations

  13. Revised CRISM spectral parameters and summary products based on the currently detected mineral diversity on Mars

    Viviano-Beck, Christina E., 2014, JGRE

    375 lifetime citations

  14. Opaline silica in young deposits on Mars

    Milliken, R. E., 2008, Geo

    347 lifetime citations

  15. Clay minerals in delta deposits and organic preservation potential on Mars

    Ehlmann, Bethany L., 2008, NatGe

    339 lifetime citations

  16. Ultrahigh resolution topographic mapping of Mars with MRO HiRISE stereo images: Meter-scale slopes of candidate Phoenix landing sites

    Kirk, R. L., 2008, JGRE

    330 lifetime citations

  17. Mars high resolution gravity fields from MRO, Mars seasonal gravity, and other dynamical parameters

    Konopliv, Alex S., 2011, Icar

    325 lifetime citations

  18. Radar Sounding Evidence for Buried Glaciers in the Southern Mid-Latitudes of Mars

    Holt, John W., 2008, Sci

    319 lifetime citations

  19. CRISM multispectral summary products: Parameterizing mineral diversity on Mars from reflectance

    Pelkey, S. M., 2007, JGRE

    311 lifetime citations

  20. Constraints on the origin and evolution of the layered mound in Gale Crater, Mars using Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data

    Thomson, B. J., 2011, Icar

    304 lifetime citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Science Explorer (SciX) for peer-reviewed articles naming MRO in the title, abstract or keywords; standard filters drop articles that are not peer-reviewed and magazine pieces.

((=abs:"Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter" OR (abs:"MRO" AND abs:"Mars") OR (abs:"HiRISE" AND abs:"Mars") OR (abs:"CRISM" AND abs:"Mars") OR (abs:"CTX" AND abs:"Mars") OR (abs:"SHARAD" AND abs:"Mars"))) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2006-12 TO 2040-01] AND NOT bibstem:("A&R" OR "ACPD" OR "AIASJ" OR "AMTD" OR "AeAm" OR "AirSp" OR "AsNow" OR "AsUAI" OR "AvWST" OR "BGD" OR "C&E" OR "C&T" OR "CAPJ" OR "CliPD" OR "E&S" OR "ENews" OR "ESDD" OR "ESSDD" OR "ESuDD" OR "GID" OR "GMDD" OR "GeCAS" OR "HESSD" OR "IrAJ" OR "JCos" OR "JRASC" OR "LAstr" OR "MNSSA" OR "Met" OR "NHESD" OR "NPGD" OR "NewSc" OR "OcScD" OR "Orion" OR "PhT" OR "PhTea" OR "PhuZ" OR "PhyOJ" OR "PhyW" OR "PlR" OR "SOILD" OR "SciAm" OR "SpFl" OR "TCD" OR "ZemVs")

Open in SciX

Removed after review (4)

  1. Deep-space Optical Terminals (DOT) Systems Engineering Design study for a proposed optical communications demo; cites MRO only for comparison. Decision 🤖
  2. Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Science Investigation Overview of the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) mission; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is mentioned only in passing. Decision 🤖
  3. The people's camera Unsigned Nature Geoscience editorial on the mission; a news and opinion item, not research. Decision 🤖
  4. Cliffs of ice spied on Mars Science staff news article reporting mission results; a news item, not research. Decision 🤖