Quantifying the scientific impact and timeliness of NASA's science missions. Note: these results are preliminary and subject to revision.
This scatter plot assesses the proportionality between financial input and scientific output by comparing each mission's share of the total portfolio cost against its share of total refereed citations or publications. The 1:1 diagonal represents a baseline of neutral efficiency; missions situated significantly above this line demonstrate a "bibliometric yield" that exceeds their relative capital consumption, identifying high-efficiency programs, in regards to citation/publication numbers, within the given set.
Distribution of highly-cited papers (i100 or i10 index) across missions, ordered by cost. Shows which missions or cost categories produce the most influential research outputs. The metric selector also offers Nc_lifetime, Nc_prime and Nc_prime per year; the variants measure different spans and are not comparable with each other.
Share of papers meeting the configured i100 citation threshold within each division, grouped by cost bin or program. The metric selector also offers Nc_lifetime, Nc_prime and Nc_prime per year; the variants measure different spans and are not comparable with each other.
Isometric 3D view of each cost bin's share of papers meeting the configured i100 citation threshold. Bar height is proportional to that share within each division. The metric selector also offers Nc_lifetime, Nc_prime and Nc_prime per year; the variants measure different spans and are not comparable with each other.
Share of total division spending within each cost bin. Each cell shows what percentage of that division's total adjusted lifecycle cost falls into the given cost range.
Isometric 3D view of each cost bin's share of total division spending. Bar height is proportional to the cost share within each division.
Ratio of high-impact publication share to cost share within each division. A value of 1x means proportional output relative to spending; above 1x indicates more high-impact papers per dollar than average for that division; below 1x indicates less. Computed as (i100 share) ÷ (cost share). The metric selector also offers Nc_lifetime, Nc_prime and Nc_prime per year; the variants measure different spans and are not comparable with each other.
A summary of mission outcomes, distinguishing between successfully completed operations and premature failures. This view provides a high-level assessment of the portfolio's overall success rate and historical risk profile across different divisions.
This analysis investigates the relationship between mission/program expenditures and papers meeting the configured i100 citation threshold. Two Nc options are offered, both counting only papers published between prime mission start and 2 years past mission end: Nc_prime per year divides by the length of that window, and Nc_prime (total) does not — the first asks how fast the science arrived, the second how much of it the money bought. Missions too young for their citation window to have closed are excluded from both.
Scientific impact metrics plotted against dollars spent per year during the extended mission phase (inflation-adjusted $M, log scale), dividing extended-mission spending by the length of the Nc_extended window — prime mission end through the end of that window. Both axes are then rates over the same span, so a long extension neither inflates its spending nor dilutes its output. Only missions with extended mission spending > $0 are included. In By Cost and By Program views, points show averages for missions within each bin that have extended mission spending. The Nc option is Nc_extended per year: only papers published from prime mission end (the start of the extension) through 2 years past mission end, divided by the length of that window — so it measures what the extension produced, not the whole mission.
Scientific impact metrics plotted against years since launch (older missions on the right). Optionally filter to missions within a cost range. Failures, Partial Successes, missions without a launch date, and missions under 2 years past prime mission start are excluded. The Nc option here is Nc_lifetime per year — every paper the mission has produced, divided by years since prime mission start.
Scientific impact metrics plotted against total mission duration in years (from prime mission start, or launch if unavailable, to mission end). Active missions with no end date use today as their end date. Use the cost class filter to display only missions in a single cost tier. Failures, Partial Successes, and missions under 2 years past prime mission start are excluded. A mission whose prime mission start and end date are the same day (e.g. a single-day impactor) reads as 1 day rather than 0. The Nc option here is Nc_prime per year: only papers published between prime mission start and 2 years past mission end, divided by the length of that window. Missions too young for their citation window to have closed are excluded.
Total unique first authors across all publications per mission, plotted against mission cost (log scale). Each point is an individual mission. Higher values indicate a broader author community engaged with the mission's science. Failures, Partial Successes, and missions under 2 years past prime mission start are excluded.
Average scientific output per mission, grouped by cost bin and division. Output can be measured per year — Nc_year, papers published in each mission-year, for a chosen post-launch window — or per dollar: Nc_prime per $M against the mission's adjusted lifecycle cost, and Nc_extended per $M against what the extension alone cost. The two per-dollar measures share one y axis, so they can be read directly against each other. Only missions with a value for the selected measure are included; Failures and Partial Successes are excluded.
Average citation-weighted publications per year (Nc_year) across successive 3-year windows since prime mission start, with one line per cost bin. Select a division to view its missions. Only missions that have reached each window’s minimum elapsed time are included; Failures and Partial Successes are excluded.
Average citation-weighted publications per year (Nc_year) across successive 3-year windows since prime mission start, with one line per division. Select a cost bin to view its missions. Only missions that have reached each window’s minimum elapsed time are included; Failures and Partial Successes are excluded.
This metric tracks the time elapsed between major mission milestones (like Launch) and the publication of the first highly cited result. It helps set expectations for the "incubation period" of different missions, showing how long it takes for mission activities to result in major scientific findings. Failures, Partial Successes, and missions under 2 years past prime mission start are excluded.
A timeline displaying the volume of refereed publications over the first ten years, measured from each mission's start of scientific operations. This visualizes the "shape" of a mission's productivity, highlighting the difference between short-duration missions that peak immediately versus long-term observatories that generate sustained output over time. Failures, Partial Successes, and missions under 2 years past prime mission start are excluded.
Productivity and impact of space science missions as a function of their dry mass (wet mass when dry mass is unavailable), with cost encoded by color. Productivity is parameterized as the number of reviewed papers per year since start of operations per $M. Impact is measured by the Research Impact Quotient (Riq) normalized for cost. Mission Impact uses Mission Riq, which drops Riq's author-count normalization so a paper counts in full for its mission; it is available only for divisions exported with local metrics. The diamond marks the average of CubeSat missions (<15 kg), with error bars spanning the range. Adapted from Fiore & Elvis, 2025.