OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The median citation count of International Journal of Astrobiology is 1. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2022-06-01 to 2026-06-01.)

Article	Citations
Observation of significant photosynthesis in garden cress and cyanobacteria under simulated illumination from a K dwarf star	9
The social science perspective on the Fermi paradox	8
Identifying optimal decision-making strategies and determining effective messaging to maximize the expected outcomes of potential human–extraterrestrial encounters	8
Alien technology, conjunction and ergodicity	8
Abiogenesis: the Carter argument reconsidered	7
Heat-induced changes in molecular biosignatures and the influence of Mars-relevant minerals	7
If extraterrestrial intelligence exists, it is unable to recognize humans as intelligent beings – ERRATUM	7
Detecting carotenoids in salt crystals: insights into biosignature detection under Mars-like proton irradiation using in situ and ex situ Raman spectroscopy	7
The future of intelligence in the Universe: a call for humility	7
How can planetary back-contamination protection guidelines inform biosafety for synthetic biology?	7
Formalizing the Fermi paradox and combining consistent explanatory hypotheses	6
Role of horizontal gene transfers and microbial ecology in the evolution of fluxes through the tricarboxylic acid cycle	5
Fungus Penicillium rubens isolated from the International Space Station (ISS) shows faster colony growth and better spore resistance to cosmic radiation than type strain	5
Succession of the bacterial community from a spacecraft assembly clean room when enriched in brines relevant to Mars	5
Extraterrestrial nature reserves (ETNRs)	5
How common are oxygenic photosynthesis and large coal deposits on exoplanets?	5
Houston, we have a problem…or do we? The trajectory of astrobioethics and Indigenous thought	5
Short-term survival of tardigrades ( Ramazzottius cf. varieornatus and Hypsibius ex	4
Astrovirology: how viruses enhance our understanding of life in the Universe	4
Stromatolite photomorphogenesis: lighting up their shape	4
Abundance, isolation and characterization of salinotolerant bacteria in a spacecraft assembly facility	4
Astrobiology: resolution of the statistical Drake equation by Maccone's lognormal method in 50 steps	4
Subsurface scientific exploration of extraterrestrial environments (MINAR 5): analogue science, technology and education in the Boulby Mine, UK – CORRIGENDUM	4
Review of “Life in Space – Astrobiology for non-scientists”	4
Iron reduction as a viable metabolic pathway in Enceladus’ ocean	4

Special issue: Open questions and next steps in astrobiology in Europe – celebrating 20 years of EANA	4
Fifty years of astrobiology: mapping researcher communities with topic-based network analyses	4
Drosophila melanogaster: a promising system for space biology research	4
The interstellar object significance scale (Loeb Scale): astronomical classification of interstellar objects	3
Microbial protocols for spacecraft: 2. Biocidal effects of Delrin and nylon in sealed compartments may enhance bioburden reductions in planetary spacecraft	3
Runaway growth of planetesimals revisited: presenting criteria required for realistic modeling of planetesimal growth	3
Hype, skin in the game, and the stability of cooperative science	3
Self-replicating probes are imminent – implications for SETI	3
Earth as a potential source of life for Europa’s subsurface ocean	3
Astrobiocentrism: reflections on challenges in the transition to a vision of life and humanity in space	3
Megatsunamis and microbial life on early Mars	3
Astrobiological applications of μ-mapping X-ray fluorescence spectrometry	3
Temporal retention of information as a biosignature	3
Biosignature preservation in FaRLiP cyanobacteria after prolonged desiccation and its relevance to space missions searching for life	3
A proposed mechanism for the formation of protocell-like structures on Titan	2
Navigating life in the extremes: a bibliometric exploration of extremophiles and astrobiology	2
Solid grains ejected from terrestrial exoplanets as a probe of the abundance of life in the Milky Way	2
Bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, terrestrial analogue of extraterrestrial microorganisms?	2
Hydrocarbons on Mars	2
Detection and prebiotic chemistry of possible glycine precursor molecule methylenimine towards the hot molecular core G10.47+0.03	2
Caves on Earth as proxies for Martian subsurface environments	2
Regular variability of planet-hosting stars as a periodic environmental driver for prebiotic chemistry	2
The challenging history of other Earths	2
Applications of microbial bioplastic polyhydroxyalkanoates as biosignatures for astrobiological detection	2
Environmental constraints on the origin of life based on membrane formation: the role of salinity	2
Dehydrated thin film media to rapidly estimate bioburden for planetary protection flight implementation	2
Experimental and theoretical studies of the interactions of alanine onto surfaces of olivine and montmorillonite: relevance in astrobiology	2
Astroecology: bridging the gap between ecology and astrobiology	2
Exploring the diversity within EANA and AbGradE as mirror of the European astrobiology community	2
Presence of liquid water during the evolution of exomoons orbiting ejected free-floating planets	2
Frontiers of astrobiology and the humanities	1
Metabolic pathways profiling of aerobiomes in the Earth’s lower atmosphere	1
Astrophysical existential threats: a comparative analysis	1
On the first probe to transit between two interstellar civilizations	1
Stability and transformation of interstellar amino acid precursors under simulated meteorite parent body conditions	1
Breakthrough results in astrobiology: is ‘high risk’ research needed?	1
Biomarkers in the Atacama Desert along the moisture gradient and the depth in the hyperarid zone: Phosphatase activity as trace of microbial activity	1
Prebiotic decluttering: the thermodynamic tail-wind to asymmetric autocatalysis	1
A non-anthropocentric solution to the Fermi paradox	1
Why do we need (another) universal tracers portal in Astrobiology?	1
Planetary biotechnospheres, biotechnosignatures and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence	1
Black holes as tools for quantum computing by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations	1
The multiple extremes of temperature, salt and pH define narrower limits to microbial growth in Halomonas hydrothermalis than individual extremes	1
Information gain as a tool for assessing biosignature missions	1
Exploring extremophile gas production as a biomarker for early Earth atmospheres	1
Inferring their minds and analysing our beliefs: on the contribution of (exo)psychology to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence	1
A philosophical perspective about the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe	1
Children of time: the geological recency of intelligence and its implications for SETI	1
Database on mineral mediated carbon reduction: implications for future research	1
Transdisciplinary contributions in undergraduate university students through a stratospheric balloon project with an astrobiological focus	1

Heat inactivation of proteins: implications for the Mars Sample Campaign and other extraterrestrial sample return missions	1
The Fermi paradox: impact of astrophysical processes and dynamical evolution	1
How we can mine asteroids for space food	1
Estimating the potential of ionizing radiation-induced radiolysis for microbial metabolism on terrestrial planets and satellites with rarefied atmospheres	1
Spore bioburden transferred in CFC-11 to NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft heat redistribution system	1
Habitability constraints by nutrient availability in atmospheres of rocky exoplanets	1
The Noonday argument: fine-graining, indexicals, and the nature of Copernican reasoning	1
The CRYPTOMARS project: a multi-omic approach for studying Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities as Martian-analog life-forms	1
Early taphonomic processes in a microbial-based sedimentary system from a temperate salt-pan site (Cervia salterns, Italy)	1