Interplanetary travel : cluster analysis of inspec classification codes to identify main subject areas

• Main Authors: Osorio, Nestor L., Osorio, Gabriel E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Library and information science
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154324
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Background. Interplanetary travel is a highly scientific and technological area. Scientific institutions and organizations, government agencies, and the media have made this subject popular. It is also a major aspect of science fiction. An exploration of the subject can be of interest to a wide audience. Objective. To define the major scientific and technical aspects of interplanetary travel and present them to the non-scientific reader. Method. Relevant citations on the subject were obtained from the Inspec database using applicable keywords; the bibliography of four key articles and citations were also retrieved from Inspec. All the classification codes from the citations were compiled. The visualization software Sci2 was used to create subject clusters, and the classification codes related to each cluster were extracted. Result. Six main subject areas were found to represent the main components of interplanetary travel. These are described, together with a list of basic resources. Major publications such as books, journals and conference proceedings obtained from the searches are listed. Contribution. This survey is targeted at librarians, teachers, and others with limited scientific background to provide them with an overview of the scientific and technical aspects of interplanetary travel. This information can be used to prepare information literacy sessions on a topic that can bring active participation and interest in a class. It can help students with non-scientific backgrounds venture into this exciting area. Finally, this can be viewed as a contribution to science literacy.