Mapping & Analyzing Research Software

Discover the Impact of
Research Software

MARS is a comprehensive platform for discovering, archiving, and analyzing research software data — without writing a single line of code.

Discover

Find research software across multiple sectors and institutions

Archive

Store and retrieve comprehensive data about research software

Analyze

Measure KPIs and benchmark against peers without coding

Comprehensive Research Software Analysis

MARS provides powerful tools to discover, archive, and analyze research software without writing complex code.

Find Research Software Across Disciplines

MARS provides powerful search and filtering capabilities to discover research software across multiple disciplines, institutions, and sectors.

Advanced Search

Find software using complex criteria and filters

Metadata Extraction

Automatically extract and index metadata from research software

Relationship Mapping

Visualize connections between software, papers, and researchers

Who MARS Is For

MARS serves a diverse community of researchers, organizations, and institutions interested in understanding the impact of research software.

Academic Researchers

Researchers seeking to analyze research software across disciplines, identify trends, and discover potential collaborations.

Common Use Cases

  • Tracking software usage and citations in publications
  • Discovering related research software across institutions
  • Analyzing research software evolution over time

Industry Watchers

Professionals monitoring research software development to identify emerging technologies and innovation opportunities.

Common Use Cases

  • Identifying emerging trends in research software
  • Monitoring research software with commercial potential
  • Tracking technology transfer from academia to industry

Government Agencies

Agencies evaluating research investments, tracking outcomes, and planning future funding priorities.

Common Use Cases

  • Measuring research outcomes from funded projects
  • Evaluating software sustainability and reuse
  • Planning strategic investments in research infrastructure

Software Foundations

Organizations supporting open source research software seeking to measure impact and demonstrate value.

Common Use Cases

  • Benchmarking software adoption and community growth
  • Tracking cross-disciplinary software applications
  • Demonstrating impact for stakeholders and funders

Universities & Institutions

Research institutions looking to benchmark their research software output and impact against peers.

Common Use Cases

  • Measuring institutional research software output
  • Comparing software impact against peer institutions
  • Identifying internal collaboration opportunities

Software Developers

Developers seeking to understand usage patterns and opportunities to contribute to research software.

Common Use Cases

  • Finding active research software projects needing contributors
  • Analyzing technical approaches across similar software
  • Discovering potential applications of research software

Why Choose MARS?

MARS streamlines the process of discovering, archiving, and analyzing research software data, saving you time and resources.

Key Benefits

No Coding Required

Use our intuitive interface to perform complex analyses without writing a single line of code.

API Access for Developers

For those who prefer to code, connect directly to our well-documented APIs to power your own systems.

Comprehensive Analytics

Access pre-built dashboards and create custom visualizations to answer your specific questions.

Save Time & Resources

Eliminate the need to manually gather data from multiple sources or develop custom analysis code.

MARS vs. Alternatives

MARSTraditional Methods
Unified Platform
Single interface for discovery, archiving, and analysis
No Coding Required
Perform analysis without writing code
Pre-built Visualizations
Ready-to-use dashboards and reports
Cross-discipline Data
Research software data across multiple disciplines
API Access
Programmatic access to data
Time Investment
Time needed to set up and maintain
MinimalSignificant

About MARS

MARS is becoming a 501(c)3 US-based non-profit with a commitment to open source and democratic governance.

Our Mission

MARS aims to increase the visibility, accessibility, and understanding of research software across disciplines. We believe that better data about research software leads to better decision-making, more efficient resource allocation, and ultimately, accelerated scientific progress.

By providing tools that make it easy to discover, archive, and analyze research software, we help researchers, institutions, funders, and developers make informed decisions based on comprehensive data.

Our work is guided by principles of openness, transparency, and community governance to ensure that MARS serves the diverse needs of the research software ecosystem.

Open Source & Governance

Open Source

Most of the MARS codebase is open source, enabling community contributions and transparency.

Non-Profit Organization

MARS is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 US-based non-profit organization.

Democratic Governance

Board members are nominated and elected through a democratic process by core contributors.

Community-Driven

MARS is built by and for the research software community, with continuous feedback guiding development.

The Martians

MARS is nothing without Martians. Here is MARS' dedicated team of core maintainers, ordered by join date.

Sam Schwartz, PhD

Sam Schwartz

Joined March, 2025
Professor in the Universities of Wisconsin System
Wisconsin, USA

Guy Pavlov

Joined March, 2025
20+ years as a {AI Freelancer, Engineering Manager, Startup Cofounder}
Ontario, Canada

Susie Yu

Joined April, 2025
Software Engineer at Hypercare
Ontario, Canada

Boris Veytsman, PhD

Boris Veytsman

Joined April, 2025
Researcher at George Mason University
Washington DC Metro, USA

Developer API Access

Connect directly to our well-documented APIs to integrate MARS data into your own applications and analysis workflows.

RESTful API

Our comprehensive API gives you programmatic access to all MARS functionality, allowing you to integrate research software data into your own systems and workflows.

Comprehensive Endpoints

Access all MARS features through our RESTful API endpoints

Multiple Response Formats

Get data in JSON, CSV, and other formats to suit your needs

Detailed Documentation

Extensive documentation with examples for all endpoints

MARS API Example
// Example: Fetch software by ID
const fetchSoftware = async (id) => {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.mars-project.org/v1/software/${id}`,
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  );
  
  const data = await response.json();
  return data;
};

// Example: Search software by criteria
const searchSoftware = async (criteria) => {
  const params = new URLSearchParams(criteria);
  
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.mars-project.org/v1/software/search?${params}`,
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  );
  
  const data = await response.json();
  return data;
};
Example Response
{
  "id": "sw-12345",
  "name": "SciAnalyzer",
  "repository": "https://github.com/example/scianalyzer",
  "description": "A tool for analyzing scientific data",
  "licenses": ["MIT"],
  "citations": 123,
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": "person-789",
      "name": "Jane Doe",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-2345-6789",
      "affiliation": "Example University"
    },
    // More contributors...
  ],
  "relatedPapers": [
    {
      "id": "paper-456",
      "title": "SciAnalyzer: A New Tool for Scientific Data Analysis",
      "doi": "10.1234/example.5678",
      "citations": 45
    },
    // More papers...
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "stars": 567,
    "forks": 123,
    "openIssues": 45,
    "lastUpdated": "2024-10-15T14:32:21Z"
  }
}

Ready to Explore Research Software Data?

Join the MARS platform to discover, archive, and analyze research software data without writing complex code.

Academic Users

Analyze research software trends and find collaboration opportunities

Get Started

Organization Users

Benchmark your research software against peers and track performance

Learn More

API Access

Connect directly to our APIs to power your own systems

View Docs

Questions? Contact our team

MARS