Space exploration has transitioned from sporadic exploratory milestones to continuous, multi-platform operational programmes. Planetary probes, orbital observatories, lunar landers, and commercial satellite constellations generate a continuous stream of observational data and technical challenges. Documenting this work requires academic outlets that can accommodate both observational findings and the engineering systems that make those observations possible.
The Journal of Ongoing Space Exploration and Technology provides a dedicated venue for this research. Hosted on the SciMatic publishing platform, the journal connects fundamental research in the space sciences with applied advancements in aerospace engineering.
Editorial Aim and Philosophy
The primary aim of the Journal of Ongoing Space Exploration and Technology is to offer a peer-reviewed platform for research, technical innovations, and analyses that advance space exploration. Space missions rely heavily on reciprocal feedback between science and engineering: scientific questions dictate instrument requirements, while hardware limitations constrain mission parameters. The journal's editorial focus is designed to reflect this interdisciplinary reality by bringing together astrophysicists, planetary scientists, hardware engineers, and systems designers in a single publication venue.
Core Scope and Thematic Areas
The journal accepts submissions across two central thematic tracks, covering both observational science and hardware development.
1. Space Missions and Discoveries
This track focuses on the scientific outputs of space exploration. It welcomes manuscripts reporting on active, ongoing, or completed space missions, as well as analyses derived from space-based instruments. Topics within this track include:
- Planetary Science: Surface geology, atmospheric composition, magnetospheric dynamics, and potential habitability indicators of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
- Cosmology and Astrophysics: Observational data gathered from orbital observatories and deep-space telescopes, including stellar evolution, galactic dynamics, and cosmic background radiation.
- Mission Reports: Preliminary and post-mission evaluations of space science campaigns, focusing on data yield, observational anomalies, and empirical discoveries gained from celestial exploration.
2. Space Technology and Engineering
Scientific payloads require robust technological foundations to function in extreme environments. This track focuses on the design, testing, and operational deployment of space hardware and software systems. Relevant subject areas include:
- Propulsion Systems: Developments in chemical propulsion, electric thrusters, ion drives, solar sails, and emerging deep-space propulsion concepts.
- Spacecraft Design and Robotics: Structural design, thermal control systems, guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) architectures, as well as robotic arms, surface rovers, and autonomous navigation algorithms.
- Satellite Systems and Constellations: Small-satellite architectures (such as CubeSats and SmallSats), orbital positioning protocols, communication payloads, and inter-satellite cross-link technologies.
- Scientific Instrumentation: The engineering behind space-rated sensors, spectrometers, cameras, detectors, and sample collection mechanisms, including radiation-hardening techniques and precision calibration methods.
Which Researchers Should Submit?
The journal is intended for researchers, engineers, and mission analysts whose work contributes directly to our capability to study and operate in space. Typical contributors include:
- Planetary Scientists and Astronomers: Authors working with data from current orbital platforms or ground-truth data from rovers and probes who require a peer-reviewed venue that values mission context alongside scientific discovery.
- Aerospace and Systems Engineers: Teams developing new hardware subsystems, propulsion mechanics, or deployment mechanisms who have validated their models through lab testing, simulated environments, or spaceflight qualification.
- Instrument Developers: Specialists bridging physical science and electronic design to build sensors and analytical payloads suited for the thermal, vibrational, and radiative stresses of spaceflight.
- Mission Architects and Trajectory Analysts: Specialists modelling orbital mechanics, gravity assists, low-thrust trajectory optimisation, and space situational awareness.
Manuscript Requirements and Peer Review
Submissions to the Journal of Ongoing Space Exploration and Technology must demonstrate methodological rigour. For engineering manuscripts, the journal expects clear descriptions of testing protocols, environmental boundaries, and quantifiable performance metrics. For observational and mission papers, data provenance, analytical pipelines, and calibration methodologies must be detailed thoroughly to ensure reproducibility.
Manuscripts are managed via the SciMatic manuscript submission and peer-review system. Authors can submit their drafts, track review statuses, and coordinate revisions through the platform interface. Where enabled, SciMatic's integrated review workflows assist editors in assessing manuscript formatting, originality, and baseline compliance before peer reviewers evaluate technical validity.
Submitting Your Work
Researchers with active projects in planetary science, mission data analysis, or space technology development are invited to prepare their manuscripts according to the journal's author guidelines. Submissions can be initiated directly through the journal's profile on scimatic.org, where authors can manage publication fees using internal SCI balance or USDT.
