Research
NASA is betting on cheaper missions as a way to sustain science. We built a database to check whether it works.
The Brief
- The Planetary Society built a database of 143 NASA science missions and 148,534 peer-reviewed papers to test whether cheaper missions can sustain science.
- Its main finding is that in every science division, the cheapest missions cannot replace the science return of larger ones.
- The study and an accompanying dashboard were published as the Science Mission Impact study.
Why it matters
The finding bears directly on NASA's strategy of favouring lower-cost missions, and it quantifies science return by linking missions to published papers.
Who’s affected
- planetary scientists and astronomers who rely on NASA missions
- anyone following NASA budget and mission-selection policy
- #nasa
- #science policy
- #space missions
- #research funding
- #bibliometrics
Our new Science Mission Impact study and dashboard examine 143 NASA science missions and 148,534 peer-reviewed papers. Our main finding: In every science division, the cheapest missions can’t replace the science return of larger ones.
Timeline
The Planetary Society published the Science Mission Impact study and dashboard
The Planetary Society Articles
NASA is betting on cheaper missions as a way to sustain science. We built a database to check whether it works.