Special Topic: Planetary Exploration> Field Distribution
Published May 2011
Ranked by papers. Source dates: January 1, 2001-March 18, 2011. The source database for the Planetary Exploration Special Topic was the Web of Science®, and the field distribution reflects Web of Science database categories.
There are 28 disciplines that contributed 50 papers or more. This pattern emphasizes that planetary exploration is rich in multidisciplinary research. Data from Cassini-Huygens and the Mars rovers have both contributed substantially to the rapid growth of astrobiology, which is a branch of space science where the physical sciences, life sciences, and engineering each have their place.
Field Distribution
| Rank | Field | Citations | Papers | Cites per paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS | 47,580 | 4,155 | 11.45 |
| 2 | GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY | 6,697 | 940 | 7.12 |
| 3 | ENGINEERING, AEROSPACE | 781 | 630 | 1.24 |
| 4 | GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS | 7,509 | 603 | 12.45 |
| 5 | OPTICS | 1,748 | 454 | 3.85 |
| 6 | PHYSICS, APPLIED | 962 | 419 | 2.30 |
| 7 | METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES | 2,357 | 396 | 5.95 |
| 8 | PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY | 2,219 | 234 | 9.48 |
| 9 | ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC | 657 | 178 | 3.69 |
| 10 | CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL | 1,169 | 155 | 7.54 |
| 11 | PHYSICS, ATOMIC, MOLECULAR & CHEMICAL | 1,237 | 158 | 7.83 |
| 12 | MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES | 586 | 128 | 4.58 |
| 13 | BIOLOGY | 584 | 107 | 5.46 |
| 14 | PHYSICS, FLUIDS & PLASMAS | 979 | 77 | 12.71 |
| 15 | SPECTROSCOPY | 694 | 105 | 6.61 |
| 16 | INSTRUMENTS & INSTRUMENTATION | 510 | 96 | 5.31 |
| 17 | PHYSICS, MATHEMATICAL | 259 | 59 | 4.39 |
| 18 | TELECOMMUNICATIONS | 409 | 83 | 4.93 |
| 19 | CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY | 467 | 76 | 6.14 |
| 20 | MATHEMATICS, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS | 507 | 76 | 6.67 |
| 21 | REMOTE SENSING | 371 | 74 | 5.01 |
| 22 | ROBOTICS | 439 | 73 | 6.01 |
| 23 | MATHEMATICS, APPLIED | 213 | 69 | 3.09 |
| 24 | PHYSICS, PARTICLES & FIELDS | 352 | 66 | 5.33 |
| 25 | AUTOMATION & CONTROL SYSTEMS | 178 | 57 | 3.12 |
| 26 | ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL | 150 | 55 | 2.73 |
| 27 | CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL | 421 | 50 | 8.42 |
| 28 | COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | 241 | 50 | 4.82 |
| 29 | COMPUTER SCIENCE, THEORY & METHODS | 146 | 44 | 3.32 |
| 30 | ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL | 101 | 42 | 2.40 |
| 31 | MATHEMATICS | 84 | 42 | 2.00 |
| 32 | MECHANICS | 131 | 40 | 3.28 |
| 33 | NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | 150 | 40 | 3.75 |
| 34 | HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE | 25 | 24 | 1.04 |
| 35 | PHYSICS, NUCLEAR | 121 | 35 | 3.46 |
| 36 | PHYSICS, CONDENSED MATTER | 221 | 34 | 6.50 |
| 37 | BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | 112 | 10 | 11.20 |
| 38 | METALLURGY & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING | 64 | 32 | 2.00 |
| 39 | BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS | 306 | 31 | 9.87 |
| 40 | COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS | 128 | 30 | 4.27 |
| 41 | ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY | 46 | 30 | 1.53 |
| 42 | THERMODYNAMICS | 126 | 29 | 4.34 |
| 43 | GEOLOGY | 262 | 28 | 9.36 |
| 44 | COMPUTER SCIENCE, HARDWARE & ARCHITECTURE | 106 | 25 | 4.24 |
| 45 | CHEMISTRY, APPLIED | 115 | 20 | 5.75 |
General Information
Modern scientific research is, in general, multidisciplinary in nature. It is rather rare for a researcher to work within the narrow confines of any one discipline. A molecular biologist could deal in cell biology, pathology, biochemistry, or any number of related fields. Materials science can encompass chemistry and physics.
The field distribution will show, for any given Topic, which disciplines have a shared interest in a particular research area, as well as to what degree these discipline influence the Topics in question.
Overall General Information
Modern scientific research is, in general, multidisciplinary in nature. It is rather rare for a researcher to work within the narrow confines of any one discipline. A molecular biologist could deal in cell biology, pathology, biochemistry, or any number of related fields. Materials science can encompass chemistry and physics.
The field distribution will show, for any given Topic, which disciplines have a shared interest in a particular research area, as well as to what degree these discipline influence the Topics in question.
What are Special Topics?
Special Topics, from ScienceWatch.com, is designed to complement Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Clarivate in providing citation analyses and commentary for selected scientific research areas that have experienced notable recent advances or are of special current interest.
Read about the overall methodology for Special Topics in the "What are Special Topics?" page.
Planetary Exploration
- Top 20: Authors | Institutions | Journals | Nations
- Papers: 10-Year | 2-Year
- Time Series Graphs
- Field Distribution
- Interviews
Featured Image
The Hubble Space Telescope stands tall in the cargo bay of the space shuttle Atlantis following its capture on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Photo from NASA, and HUBBLESITE.
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