Planetary Science

MSL

1,107 tracked publications and 38,823 citations from 2012–2026. Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity. Launched 2011. Life-cycle cost: $4.0B in 2025 dollars. Active Mission Window September 1, 2012 to January 1, 2024: 897 publications, 139 top-10% credit.

Rover · h-index 95 · 87 papers with 100+ citations · prime mission ended 2014

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 September 1, 2012 to January 1, 2024
Tracked publicationsTracked publications: peer-reviewed research papers we found for the mission. The list may not be complete. Methods897
CitationsCitations received by the tracked publications in the selected scope. The two windowed scopes count each paper’s citations only within its citation window. Methods15,257
Mean citations per publicationMean citations: total citations divided by tracked publications in the selected scope. One blockbuster paper can lift it. Methods17
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. Methods10
Uncited publicationsUncited publications: papers with no citations in the selected scope. Methods38 (4.2%)
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. Methods139 · 13% 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. Methods15 · 14% 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. Methods95
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. Methods150
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. Methods6.3
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. Methods95
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. Methods609

Tracked publications

  1. A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

    Grotzinger, J. P., 2014, Sci

    653 citations

  2. Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Science Investigation

    Grotzinger, John P., 2012, SSRv

    573 citations

  3. Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars

    Grotzinger, J. P., 2015, Sci

    512 citations

  4. The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Body Unit and Combined System Tests

    Wiens, Roger C., 2012, SSRv

    469 citations

  5. The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite

    Mahaffy, Paul R., 2012, SSRv

    466 citations

  6. Mineralogy of a Mudstone at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

    Vaniman, D. T., 2014, Sci

    452 citations

  7. The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Science Objectives and Mast Unit Description

    Maurice, S., 2012, SSRv

    417 citations

  8. Organic matter preserved in 3-billion-year-old mudstones at Gale crater, Mars

    Eigenbrode, Jennifer L., 2018, Sci

    396 citations

  9. Mars' Surface Radiation Environment Measured with the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity Rover

    Hassler, Donald M., 2014, Sci

    380 citations

  10. Organic molecules in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars

    Freissinet, C., 2015, JGRE

    361 citations

  11. Measurements of Energetic Particle Radiation in Transit to Mars on the Mars Science Laboratory

    Zeitlin, C., 2013, Sci

    353 citations

  12. Martian Fluvial Conglomerates at Gale Crater

    Williams, R. M. E., 2013, Sci

    331 citations

  13. Evidence for perchlorates and the origin of chlorinated hydrocarbons detected by SAM at the Rocknest aeolian deposit in Gale Crater

    Glavin, Daniel P., 2013, JGRE

    319 citations

  14. Mars methane detection and variability at Gale crater

    Webster, Christopher R., 2015, Sci

    308 citations

  15. Volatile, Isotope, and Organic Analysis of Martian Fines with the Mars Curiosity Rover

    Leshin, L. A., 2013, Sci

    304 citations

  16. Volatile and Organic Compositions of Sedimentary Rocks in Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

    Ming, D. W., 2014, Sci

    299 citations

  17. Mineralogy of an ancient lacustrine mudstone succession from the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars

    Rampe, E. B., 2017, E&PSL

    293 citations

  18. Transient liquid water and water activity at Gale crater on Mars

    Martín-Torres, F. Javier, 2015, NatGe

    270 citations

  19. Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Gases in the Martian Atmosphere from the Curiosity Rover

    Mahaffy, Paul R., 2013, Sci

    269 citations

  20. Elemental Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars

    McLennan, S. M., 2014, Sci

    244 citations

How we found these papers

We searched NASA’s Astrophysics Data System (ADS) for peer-reviewed articles naming MSL 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:"Mars Science Laboratory" OR =abs:"Curiosity rover" OR (=abs:Curiosity AND (abs:Mars OR abs:Gale OR abs:martian)) OR (abs:MSL AND (abs:Mars OR abs:Gale OR abs:martian)) OR (abs:Mars AND NOT (abs:Perseverance OR abs:Jezero OR =abs:"Mars 2020") AND (=abs:"Radiation Assessment Detector" OR =abs:ChemCam OR =abs:CheMin OR =abs:"Sample Analysis at Mars" OR =abs:"Mast Camera" OR =abs:Mastcam OR =abs:"Mars Hand Lens Imager" OR abs:MAHLI OR =abs:"Rover Environmental Monitoring Station" OR =abs:"Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons" OR (=abs:"Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer" AND abs:Gale))))) OR (=abs:"Mars Descent Imager" AND abs:(Mars OR martian OR Gale)) OR (abs:(REMS OR DAN) AND abs:Gale))) AND property:refereed AND doctype:article AND pubdate:[2012-09 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 (2)

  1. In Situ Compositional Measurements of Rocks and Soils with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Rovers Review of APXS rock and soil compositions from NASA's Mars rovers, including Curiosity. Decision 🤖
  2. Particle Induced X-ray Emission spectrometry (PIXE) of Hawaiian volcanics: An analogue study to evaluate the APXS field analysis of geologic materials on Mars Laboratory analogue study of APXS measurements made by Mars rovers, including Curiosity. Decision 🤖

Removed after review (55)

  1. Mars, our neighbour Popular article on Mars; mentions Curiosity only as a forthcoming mission. Decision 🤖
  2. Mars exploration: Roving the red planet Book review and commentary; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  3. 366 days: 2012 in review Year-in-review news feature; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  4. Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory Landing Site Pre-landing account of how MSL's landing site was chosen; reports no MSL results. Decision 🤖
  5. Surface Properties of the Mars Science Laboratory Candidate Landing Sites: Characterization from Orbit and Predictions Pre-landing orbital study of MSL candidate landing sites; uses no MSL data. Decision 🤖
  6. Mars Rover Reader letter about a magazine column; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  7. Mars rover under pressure to reach mountain goal News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  8. Life Could Have Thrived on Mars, but Did It? Curiosity Still Has No Clue News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  9. Analysis of Surface Materials by the Curiosity Mars Rover Introduction to a journal special section; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  10. Mars' Atmosphere from Curiosity Editor's summary of another paper; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  11. Out of Bounds Magazine column on software engineering; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  12. Mars weather data analysis using machine learning techniques Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  13. Extreme Surface Winds during Landfalling Atmospheric Rivers: The Modulating Role of Near-Surface Stability Uses MSL to mean mean sea level; not the Mars Science Laboratory. Decision 🤖
  14. MEDA HS: Relative humidity sensor for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover Describes a humidity sensor for Mars 2020; mentions Curiosity only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  15. A Martian sonic anemometer Describes a prototype Mars anemometer; mentions Curiosity only as prior art. Decision 🤖
  16. Metaheuristic approaches for prediction of water quality indices with relief algorithm-based feature selection Uses MSL to mean mean sea level; not the Mars Science Laboratory. Decision 🤖
  17. Specific initial training standards are needed to dive for science in Europe, Occupational vs. Citizen Science Diving Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  18. Framework for Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Nonstructural Elements Inside an Inflatable Lunar Habitat Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  19. An embodied encounter with the Solar System Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  20. French instruments for in-situ missions: Past, present and future Pre-landing overview of French-built instruments for MSL and Phobos-Grunt; reports no results. Decision 🤖
  21. Hopes linger for Mars methane News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  22. Landing site rationality scaling for subsurface sampling on Mars—Case study for ExoMars Rover-like missions Landing-site study for ExoMars-like missions; uses MSL candidate sites only as examples. Decision 🤖
  23. Curiosity on Mars News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  24. Foreword: Mars Science Laboratory, the First Astrobiology Mission to Mars Since Viking Editorial foreword to a journal special issue; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  25. Assessment of Environments for Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Surface Operations Pre-landing assessment of landing and operating environments for MSL; reports no results. Decision 🤖
  26. No Lake Mud for Curiosity Rover to Investigate? News item; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  27. Mars surface context cameras past, present, and future Review of Mars surface camera hardware design; reports no science results. Decision 🤖
  28. Moon, Mars and Mundus: primary school children discover the nature and science of planet Earth from experimentation and extra-terrestrial perspectives Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  29. Operation of pneumatically-actuated membrane-based microdevices for in situ analysis of extraterrestrial organic molecules after prolonged storage and in multiple orientations with respect to Earth's gravitational field Tests a microfluidic analyzer for future missions; mentions MSL only in keywords. Decision 🤖
  30. From science-fiction to present life. Comment on "A never-ending story in the sky: The secrets of chemical evolution" by C. Puzzarini and V. Barone Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  31. Concept and Design of Martian Far-IR ORE Spectrometer (MIRORES) Concept design for a proposed Mars spectrometer; cites Curiosity only as motivation. Decision 🤖
  32. 2012SSRv..170....1R news (editorial): Russell, Preface to Space Science Reviews vol. 170, the pre-landing MSL mission and instrument volume; no abstract and no result. Owner ruling 2026-09-10: the whole SSRv vol. 170 MSL volume is excluded. Decision 👨
  33. 2012SSRv..170..257V Erratum to the Ceramic ChemCam Calibration Targets paper (2012SSRv..170..229V, itself excluded); not a research article. Owner ruling 2026-09-10: the whole SSRv vol. 170 MSL volume is excluded. Decision 👨
  34. Delta-DOR: The One-Nanoradian Navigation Measurement System of the Deep Space Network --- History, Architecture, and Componentry Describes the Deep Space Network's Delta-DOR system; mentions MSL only as a planned user. Decision 🤖
  35. The Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing System Introduction to a journal special section; not a research paper. Decision 🤖
  36. Analysis of the Experimental Data on the Convective Heating of a Model Martian Entry Vehicle Using Algebraic Turbulence Models Entry-vehicle heating study; does not name MSL in its title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  37. Adaptive entry guidance for the Tianwen-1 mission Entry guidance for China's Tianwen-1; does not name MSL in its title or abstract. Decision 🤖
  38. Implementation of a Map Relative Localization System for Planetary Landing Describes Mars 2020's landing navigation system; mentions MSL only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  39. Computational Analysis of Flight Data on Convective Heating of the Martian Descent Vehicle within the Framework of the Perfect Gas Model Entry-vehicle heating study; does not name MSL in its title, abstract or keywords. Decision 🤖
  40. Bayesian Reliability Analysis of the Enhanced Multimission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Reliability analysis of a future radioisotope power source; mentions Curiosity only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  41. Reconstructed Performance of Mars 2020 Parachute Decelerator System Mars 2020 parachute performance; mentions MSL only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  42. Mars 2020 Descent Stage Integrated Propulsion Subsystem: Changes and Flight Performance Mars 2020 descent-stage propulsion; mentions MSL only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  43. Analysis of Shock-Layer Radiative Heating for a Mars Sample Return Sample Retrieval Lander Concept Heating analysis for a Mars Sample Return lander concept; mentions MSL only for comparison. Decision 🤖
  44. Analysis of two meteorite fragments (lunar and martian) using X-Ray microfluorescence and X-Ray computed microtomography techniques Uses the English word 'curiosity'; not the Curiosity rover. Decision 🤖
  45. Laboratory demonstration of space gamma-ray spectroscopy experiment with tags of Galactic cosmic rays for testing different types of Martian regolith Laboratory test of a prototype gamma-ray spectrometer for future missions; reports no MSL results. Decision 🤖
  46. Dynamics of constant temperature anemometers for the Martian Atmosphere Models a wind sensor for Mars 2020's MEDA; mentions MSL only as heritage. Decision 🤖
  47. Selection of the InSight Landing Site instrument_description: InSight landing-site selection, another mission's plan; the MSL rover is named only as a geographic reference (~600 km north of the ellipses). Owner ruling 2026-09-11 (left unresolved in msl-20260911T213023Z-13e335). Decision 👨
  48. Mawrth Vallis, Mars: A Fascinating Place for Future In Situ Exploration instrument_description: Mawrth Vallis landing-site proposal for Mars 2020 and ExoMars, other missions' plans; MSL is named only as a timing marker ('after the successful landing'). Owner ruling 2026-09-11 (left unresolved in msl-20260911T213023Z-13e335). Decision 👨
  49. Calibration of the Mars Science Laboratory Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer Pre-landing calibration of the APXS instrument; reports no science results. Decision 🤖
  50. Perseverance's Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Investigation Instrument description of the Mars 2020 SHERLOC investigation; MSL is mentioned only as design heritage. Decision 🤖