 In context, the journal StAst-JALPO was started by its founder Haas in order to provide an archive and formal scholarly study of objects where no existing journal would adequately address publication needs or access.The journal establishment was similar to the starting of "The Astrophysical Journal" and "The Astronomical Journal" by George Ellery Hale.ALPO's journal filled a void in planetary science for over a decade prior to the founding of the journal "Icarus" by Carl Sagan in 1962.