National Academies Press: OpenBook

The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon (2007)

Chapter: Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
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B
Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

ALSEPApollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package

anorthositea type of rock made up mainly of plagioclase feldspar, which has been found in all the Apollo lunar samples and constitutes most of the light-colored crust on the Moon

Archaeaa recently recognized domain of prokaryotic life. Single-celled microorganisms that lack a nucleus, are morphologically similar to bacteria but not closely related, having features such as genetic transcription and translation that are different. They are found in very high temperature environments, and include methanogens and hyperthermophiles that may be similar to the first life on Earth

ASTPApollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint U.S.–U.S.S.R. mission

ATPAdvanced Technology Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

bacteriasingle-celled micro-organisms lacking a nucleus, morphologically similar to Archaea, but not closely related

brecciaa rock composed of angular fragments of rocks and minerals in a matrix

CAPTEMCuration and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials

Chang’ea Chinese National Space Administration lunar orbiter

Chesapeakean ancient subsurface impact crater located in the Chesapeake Bay

CHEXNational Research Council’s Committee on Human Exploration

Chicxuluban ancient subsurface impact crater located near Chicxulub, Mexico

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
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chondritea type of stony meteorite containing chondrules, roughly spherical bodies containing pyroxene or olivine embedded in the matrix

chronostratigraphythe branch of stratigraphy that studies the absolute age of rocks

cool early Earthhypothesis that the surface of Earth cooled relatively quickly after the formation of the core and the Moon, such that oceans and conditions hospitable for life could exist by 4.3 Ga

Copernicanthe lunar geologic period from about 1.1 Ga ago to the present

Cretaceous/Tertiary boundaryon Earth, the boundary between rocks of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, about 65.5 million years ago, around the time of a major extinction event

cumulatesigneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma

detrital zirconszircon crystals found in erosional deposits. Some grains are as old as 4.4 Ga and are the oldest known samples of Earth

differentiated planetary bodya planetary body whose interior is formed of separate internal geologic units with distinct mineralogical characteristics, e.g., core, mantle, crust

Erastosthenianthe lunar geologic period from 1.1 Ga to 3.2 Ga ago

ESMDNASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

EVAextravehicular activity

Exospherethe highest layer of an atmosphere

feldspathicpertaining to rocks rich in feldspar minerals

Gaone billion years

geochronologydetermination of the time at which a rock crystallized, usually by radioactive decay of parent-daughter isotope pairs: U-Pb, Sm-Nd, K-Ar, or Rb-Sr

hyperthermophilemicroorganisms that live in hot environments, above 60°C

igneous rocksrocks crystallized from a magma

ISRUin situ resource utilization

Isua greenstone rocksa geological formation in southwestern Greenland (Isua) composed of ancient surface rocks

KREEPlunar basalts and breccias that are rich in potassium (K), rare-earth elements (REE), and phosphorus (P)

Kuiper Belta region of the solar system distributed in a roughly circular disk extending from 40 to 100 astronomical units from the Sun

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×

Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) hypothesisthe theory that meteorite bombardment of the inner solar system declined after accretion of the planets and then peaked again at 3.9 Ga. This event is proposed to have limited the emergence of life on Earth

LCROSSthe Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a secondary payload to be launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

LEAGthe NASA Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) is responsible for analyzing scientific, technical, commercial, and operational issues associated with lunar exploration

LPRPthe Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

LRONASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

LSAMNASA’s Lunar Surface Access Module

Lunar Aa Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar mission

lunar dynamofor the ancient Moon, the possibility that a lunar magnetic field might have been generated by the internal motion of an iron-rich molten core

Lunar Magma Ocean hypothesisthe hypothesis that when the Moon formed, it was molten to a depth of hundreds of kilometers; its crystallization produced the primary crust and mantle

mafic materialsa dark-colored, igneous rocks rich in ferromagnesian minerals

magmamolten rock from the interior of a planetary body

mantlethe geologic zone above the core and below the crust

MERNASA’s Mars Exploration Rover

obliquitythe angle between the orbital plane of an object and the plane of its rotational equator

olivinea magnesium iron silicate mineral (FeMg)2SiO4

parautochthonousa rock type intermediate in tectonic character between those found at the site of their formation and those that come from another site

Permian/Triassic boundaryon Earth, the layer of rocks between the Permian and Triassic periods, about 251 million years ago, the time of a major extinction event

petrologya branch of geology dealing with the composition, mineralogy, origin, occurrence, history, and structure of rocks

plagioclasea type of feldspar and one of the most common rock-forming minerals, (CaNa)(AlSi)4O8

plutona large body of igneous rock created by the subsurface intrusion of magma

pre-Nectarian periodthe lunar geologic period from the formation of the Moon to about 3.9 Ga ago

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×

protoliththe original rocks from which igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks were formed

pyroclastica type of rock material formed by volcanic explosion

pyroxenea group of common ferromagnesian rock-forming minerals

regolithon the Moon, the surface rock debris that overlies bedrock

remanent magnetizationalso called paleomagnetism, the component of a rock’s magnetism that has a fixed direction and is independent of Earth’s magnetic field

rheologythe study of the deformation and flow of matter

SBEsurface boundary exosphere

SELENESelenological and Engineering Explorer, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar orbiter

SIMthe Apollo Scientific Instrument Module, which contained panoramic and mapping cameras, a gamma-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, and a mass spectrometer

SIMSsecondary-ion mass spectrometry

SMART-1Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, a European Space Agency lunar mission

SMDNASA’s Science Mission Directorate

SPAthe lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin

stratigraphythe study of rock layers

TEMtransmission electron microscopy

U-Pb geochronologythe determination of the age of a rock based on radioactive decay of isotopes of U and Th to Pb, usually in the mineral zircon

VSENASA’s Vision for Space Exploration

xenolitha foreign inclusion in an igneous rock

zircona silicate mineral (ZrSiO4)

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×
Page 88
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×
Page 89
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×
Page 90
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11954.
×
Page 91
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Because of the Moon’s unique place in the evolution of rocky worlds, it is a prime focus of NASA’s space exploration vision. Currently NASA is defining and implementing a series of robotic orbital and landed missions to the Moon as the initial phase of this vision. To realize the benefits of this activity, NASA needs a comprehensive, well-validated, and prioritized set of scientific research objectives. To help establish those objectives, NASA asked the NRC to provide guidance on the scientific challenges and opportunities enabled by sustained robotic and human exploration of the Moon during the period 2008-2023 and beyond. This final report presents a review of the current understanding of the early earth and moon; the identification of key science concepts and goals for moon exploration; an assessment of implementation options; and a set of prioritized lunar science concepts, goals, and recommendations. An interim report was released in September 2006.

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