Science Explorer: ADS for All NASA Science

For over 30 years, the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) has been the indispensable digital library for astrophysicists. Building on this success, ADS is evolving to support more scientific disciplines. With the growing demand for open science resources, NASA directed ADS to cover planetary science, heliophysics, earth science, comprehensively, and NASA-funded research in the biological and physical sciences. As a result, ADS is becoming an interdisciplinary platform, the Science Explorer (SciX), unifying the physical sciences.

SciX discipline-specific interfaces allow researchers to use their preferred terms to search a vast multidisciplinary database for relevant scholarly literature, data sets, and software. Links to the publisher’s version of record and open access versions, such as preprints, ensure access for all scientists.

SciX visualizations map relations among authors and concepts, encouraging exploration of collaborations and themes across disciplines. Advanced functions suggest review articles, trending papers, and similar research, essential for tracking rapidly evolving topics.

With robust SciX citation metrics and bibliographic tools, scientists can track their impact and identify key papers. Exporting custom libraries streamlines drafting articles, grant proposals, and literature reviews. 

For ADS users, the SciX astrophysics interface is familiar, even offering the “classic” form. ADS and libraries are unchanged, while SciX expands to serve a broader community.