About The Mars Journal
Overview
The success of recent spacecraft missions to Mars is resulting in an explosion of new scientific data
that are revolutionizing almost every aspect of our understanding of the planet. The Mars Journal is aimed at accelerating the pace of Mars research and exploration, and supporting the growing Mars community by providing:
- Rapid peer review and publication of scholarly papers and supporting online data
- Free and open full-text access to all papers and online data
- An authoritative and interdisciplinary forum that includes Mars science, technology and policy
Scope
The Mars Journal publishes peer-reviewed scholarly papers in three general categories:
Mars Science: Observations, data, theory, models, and reviews of scientific literature
Mars Technology: Instruments, spacecraft, missions, tools and techniques, and software
Mars Policy: Exploration strategy, economics, planetary protection, history, and commentary
Editors
Chief Editor: David A. Paige
Assistant Editor: Carey Tanner
Associate Editors:
- Oded Aharonson, California Institute of Technology, USA
(Planetary surfaces, geomorphology, geophysics, dynamics)
- Sushil Atreya, University of Michigan, USA (Evolution of planetary and satellite atmospheres, astrobiology, photochemistry, electrochemistry)
- Roger Bourke, Aerospace Consultant, USA (Planetary mission analysis and design, program planning)
- Alberto Fairén, NASA Ames Research Center
(Astrobiology, aqueous geochemistry, oceanic evolution, geomorphology)
- François Forget, Laboratoire de Métérologie Dynamique, IPSL, France (Atmospheric dynamics and climate)
- Jeffrey Plescia, Johns Hopkins University, USA
(Geology, geophysics)
- Margaret Race, SETI Institute, USA
(Environmental biology, planetary protection, policy)
- Donald Rapp, Skillstorm, Inc., USA
(Mission architecture, power systems, in situ resource distribution and utilization, exploration strategy)
Format
Published papers are printable PDF manuscripts with links to author-supplied supporting data. See Information for Authors for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Mars Journal a real journal?
Yes! Manuscripts are being submitted and papers are being published. See Mars Journal Contents for the latest published papers.
Who publishes and edits the journal?
The journal is published by Mars Informatics Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing greater access to information and tools. The Chief Editor of The Mars Journal is David A. Paige.
How is the journal supported?
The journal's first three years of operation are fully funded by NASA (See News). Operating expenses beyond this timeframe will be covered by donations, author publication fees, print sales, and services to libraries and other institutions.
When are papers published?
Papers are published online shortly after they are accepted, unless authors request that their paper be published next to another paper or group of papers in a special collection.
Will a print version of the journal also be available?
Yes. High-quality reprints of individual papers, and collections of papers in volume form will soon be available.
Check this web site for further details as they become available.
The journal's PDF manuscripts utilize conventional sequential volume and page numbers, making them print-compatible.
The journal's open access policy entitles anyone to make unlimited reproductions of the online journal's contents free of charge.
What is open access and what are its advantages?
Open access journals allow users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of published papers at no charge and without the need to register.
Open access allows authors to retain copyright to their original work while enabling the widest possible access to their papers by other researchers and the public at large. Open access scholarly journals are becoming established in many fields and are part of a growing movement toward public access to publicly funded research. For more information about open access publishing, see:
What is a DOI and what are its advantages?
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a system for identifying and exchanging intellectual property in the digital environment that has been adopted by most scholarly journals. Papers published in The Mars Journal are assigned a unique DOI that is registered with The International DOI Foundation (IDF) through Crossref. A DOI is a permanent identifier that is independent of a document's web address. DOI's can be resolved through a central clearinghouse such as http://dx.doi.org/ that provides redirection to a document's current location. The DOI system provides a convenient and reliable approach for citations to digital documents. It also provides authors with a greater degree of confidence that their digital works can be located and accessed in the future, regardless of what happens to their publisher. See IDF's DOI Overview for more information.
Why does the journal have non-anonymous peer review?
Non-anonymous peer review encourages reviewer responsiveness and accountability, and provides public acknowledgment for reviewers' efforts. Reviewers that recommend publication of a paper will be acknowledged publicly, but reviewers that recommend rejection will remain anonymous.
What are the costs of publication?
The Mars Journal will offer free publication to authors that submit their papers online in the required format. See Information For Authors for more information. Mars Informatics will format manuscripts that are not submitted in the required format at a cost of USD $100.00 per printed page.
More Questions? How can I get involved?
Contact editor@marsjournal.org.
