Aims and scope

Announcement

We are pleased to announce that Earth, Moon, and Planets became fully open access (OA) on 1 January 2024 and moved into our Discover series as Discover Space. As a result, all submissions are subject to an article publication charge (APC) if accepted (unless a waiver is applied) and will be published in Discover Space. Please see our FAQs journal update for more information on APCs, funding options, and waivers. 

Discover Space is a fully open access, peer-reviewed journal that supports multidisciplinary research and policy developments across all fields relevant to space sciences. The journal aims to be a resource for researchers, policy makers and the general public for recent advances in space sciences, diffusion of knowledge and its uses in research development and society. As a fully open access journal, we ensure that our research is highly accessible, being instantly and globally available to everyone, while maintaining the high-quality standards of the Springer Nature publishing house. 

Topics
Topics welcomed at Discover Space include but are not limited to the following:

• Astrochemical processes in interstellar and planetary environments
• Biosignatures and their detection techniques
• Chemistry of protoplanetary disks and planet formation
• Comparative planetology between exoplanets and solar system bodies
• Detection and characterization of exoplanets
• Exoplanet atmospheres, climates, and habitability
• Exoplanet formation, evolution, and dynamics
• Extremophiles and their environments
• Habitability of exoplanets and moons
• Life detection missions and instruments
• Organic compounds in space and on celestial bodies
• Origins of life in the universe
• Search for extra-terrestrial intelligence

• Asteroids, comets, and meteoroids
• Astrometry and celestial coordinate systems
• Celestial mechanics and orbital dynamics
• Dynamics and evolution of celestial systems (stars, galaxies, clusters, etc.)
• Earth observation from space
• Earth atmosphere from space and balloons
• Formation and evolution of planetary rings
• Interactions between celestial bodies (e.g., gravitational interactions, collisions)
• Observational and theoretical studies of celestial objects (stars, galaxies, nebulae, etc.)
• Planetary science (including geology, atmospheres, and surfaces of planets and moons)
• Solar system formation and evolution

• Active galactic nuclei and quasars
• Alternative cosmologies, actual controversies and tensions
• Black holes and their astrophysical manifestations
• Cosmic inflation and the Big Bang theory
• Cosmic microwave background radiation
• Cosmic ray astrophysics
• Dark matter and dark energy and alternatives
• Dynamics and evolution of galaxies and galaxy clusters
• Galactic dynamics and structure
• Galaxy formation and evolution
• Gamma and X-ray astrophysics
• Gravitational astrophysics
• Gravitational lensing and cosmological distortions
• High-energy astrophysics (e.g., gamma-ray bursts, cosmic rays)
• Large-scale structure of the universe
• Neutrino astrophysics
• Neutron stars, pulsars, and magnetars
• Radio-astronomy
• Stellar structure, evolution, and nucleosynthesis
• Theoretical models of the early universe

• Basic laws in physics (e.g., equivalence principle, Lorentz and Poincaré symmetries, Maxwell laws)
• Electro-magnetism and extended theories (massive, non-linear theories, Standard-Model) including  observations and experiments 
• Foundations of physics (history and perspectives, theory)
• General relativity
• Gravitation and extended theories including observations and experiments
• Observations, predictions  and tests (e.g., black holes and strong fields, fast Radio bursts, gravitational waves and self-force, plasma measurements, pulsars)
• Quantum mechanics and quantum field theory in observations and experiments
• Space missions (e.g., GP-A, GP-B, Ulysses, Cassini-Huygens, LAGEOS, Microscope, ACES, LISA, STE-QUEST etc., future missions) 
• Standard-Model of particles, strong and weak interactions
• Technologies for fundamental physics in space (e.g., atomic clocks, drag-free, electric propulsion,  interferometry, radio-science)

• Magneto-hydrodynamics
• Plasma instabilities and waves in the solar environment
• Plasma processes in the heliosphere and interplanetary space
• Plasma processes in the solar atmosphere
• Solar and space physics missions and data analysis
• Solar dynamo theory and magnetic reconnection
• Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar energetic particles
• Solar influences on planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres
• Solar irradiance variability and its effects on Earth's climate
• Solar magnetic fields and their evolution
• Solar physics in the context of stellar astrophysics
• Solar physics instrumentation and observation techniques
• Solar surface phenomena (sun-spots, faculae, granulation, etc.)
• Solar wind dynamics and variability
• Solar-terrestrial interactions and space weather
• Theory of plasma physics

• Design, development, and testing of spacecraft and related technologies
• Emerging technologies and innovations in space engineering and related fields
• International and national space agencies, industries and universities
• Payload design and technologies
• Planet Earth defence
• Rocket design, operations and technology
• Space ethics and societal implications of space exploration
• Satellite debris
• Small satellites and constellations
• Space law and its application to space exploration and utilisation
• Space mission planning, execution, and management
• Space policy, regulations, and international cooperation in space activities
• Space robotics and autonomous systems for space exploration
• Space sciences in higher education
• Spacecraft sub-systems (antennae, attitude and orbital control, avionics, mechanical structure, power generation and distribution, propulsion, thermal control subsystem, telemetry, tracking and command)

Content types

Discover Space welcomes full-length Research articles as well as Brief Communications of empirical findings, Reviews, Perspectives, Comments, Case Studies, Registered Reports, and Data Notes from across the full range of disciplines concerned with space science. The journal also publishes guest-edited Topical Collections of relevance to all aspects of space science and its applications. For more information, please follow up with our journal publishing contact.