Nature Aerospace

Nature Aerospace
Title	Nature Aerospace
Discipline	Aerospace studies
Publisher	Springer Nature
Country	United Kingdom
First issue	2020
Frequency	Monthly
Open access	Hybrid

Nature Aerospace is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering aeronautics, astronautics, and related technologies with interdisciplinary emphasis on materials science, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Launched by Springer Nature as part of the Nature Portfolio family, the journal targets readers across NASA, European Space Agency, Roscosmos, Indian Space Research Organisation, and private industry such as SpaceX and Boeing. It publishes research involving experimental programs like Artemis program, missions associated with International Space Station, and projects tied to agencies such as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Overview

Nature Aerospace positions itself among high-profile journals such as Nature Communications, Science Robotics, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, AIAA Journal, and Proceedings of the Royal Society A by emphasizing cross-cutting advances in propulsion, avionics, materials, and autonomy. It targets contributions relevant to stakeholders from European Southern Observatory observatory instrument teams to corporate laboratories at Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Airbus. Topical areas intersect with programs like James Webb Space Telescope, Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, and initiatives such as Clean Sky and Horizon 2020.

History and Launch

Nature Aerospace was announced amid portfolio expansions following precedents set by Nature Physics and Nature Astronomy and formally launched in 2020 during a period of rapid growth in commercial spaceflight led by companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. The launch drew commentary comparing it to specialized titles such as Acta Astronautica and Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, and referenced high-profile collaborations between institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, and Tsinghua University. The inaugural editorial cited trends observed in reports from European Space Agency Directorate of Science and white papers by RAND Corporation and McKinsey & Company.

Scope and Editorial Focus

The journal solicits manuscripts on topics ranging from hypersonic flight tested by teams at CERN-adjacent laboratories and facilities at Sandia National Laboratories to bio-inspired unmanned systems akin to projects at MIT Media Lab. It covers research on novel materials evaluated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and modelling methods linked to frameworks developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Editorial emphasis includes autonomy and AI methods comparable to work at DeepMind and OpenAI, sensor and imaging advances paralleling research at European Southern Observatory and National Institute of Standards and Technology, and propulsion breakthroughs discussed in contexts such as Project Orion and VASMIR concepts. The scope bridges fields represented by societies like the Royal Aeronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and International Astronautical Federation.

Publication and Access Model

Published by Springer Nature, Nature Aerospace follows a hybrid open-access model similar to other Nature Portfolio titles and partners with repositories and funders including Wellcome Trust and European Research Council to offer compliance options. Article types include research articles, reviews, perspectives, and correspondence paralleling formats used in Nature Materials and Nature Machine Intelligence. The journal's policies reference ethical standards advocated by organizations such as Committee on Publication Ethics and indexing expectations akin to those of Clarivate and Scopus.

Abstracting and Indexing

Nature Aerospace is abstracted and indexed in major databases used by researchers affiliated with NASA Technical Reports Server searches and institutional libraries at Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and Peking University. It aims for inclusion in Web of Science, Scopus, Inspec, and subject repositories relied upon by analysts at National Aeronautics and Space Administration centers, European Space Agency establishments, and national labs including Argonne National Laboratory.

Reception and Impact

Early reception compared Nature Aerospace to established outlets like Science, Nature, and PNAS for interdisciplinary visibility, with commentary in media outlets that cover SpaceX launches and Artemis I milestones. Citation metrics and impact indicators are monitored alongside those for Nature Astronomy and Nature Physics, and high-profile papers have been cited by teams at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CERN, and industry R&D groups at Raytheon Technologies. The journal has been used as a venue for presenting findings associated with major programs such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter instrumentation and autonomy trials related to DARPA Subterranean Challenge.

Editorial Board and Peer Review Process

The editorial board comprises senior scientists and engineers drawn from institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Imperial College London, Caltech, Delft University of Technology, University of Tokyo, Tsinghua University, University of Toronto, and representatives with experience at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, European Space Agency, Roscosmos institutes, and industry leaders like Airbus Defence and Space and Boeing Research & Technology. The peer-review process aligns with protocols used by Nature Reviews titles, employing single- or double-blind external reviewers selected from networks that include members of the Royal Society and the National Academy of Engineering, and utilises editorial oversight similar to procedures at Springer imprints.

Category:Aerospace journals