Appendix K
Acronym List and Glossary
ADVASC
Advanced Astroculture Unit
ALS
Advanced Life Support System
AMS
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
Arabidopsis
member of the mustard family, a small flowering plant that is widely used as a model organism in plant biology
ARC
Ames Research Center
ARTIC
Advanced Thermoelectric Refrigerator Freezer
Astroculture
the growing of various plants in space
BEST
Boundary Effect near the Superfluid Transition
BPS
Biomass Production System
Brassica rapa
member of the turnip family
BSTC
Biotechnology Specimen Temperature Controller
centrifuge
large, rotating module whose rotational velocity can be varied, providing for differing levels of “gravity” under which to perform experiments
CEVP
Countermeasure Evaluation and Validation Program
CIR
Combustion Integrated Rack
circumnutation
cyclic growth movement common to many plant species
CLASS
Condensate Laboratory Aboard the Space Station
COEX
Coexistence Curve Experiment
CPBF
Commercial Plant Biotechnology Facility
critical point
temperature and pressure at which the liquid and gaseous phases of a pure, stable substance become identical
CQ
Heat Capacity at Constant Heat Current
cytoarchitecture
the general way neurons connect up in a given lump of neuroanatomy—many-to-many, many-to-one, and so on
DECLIC
Despositif pour l’Etude de la Croissance et des Liquides Critiques (CNES Directional Solidification Furnace)
dendrite
mineral crystallizing in another mineral in a branching or treelike form
dosimeter
instrument that measures and indicates the amount of x-rays or radiation absorbed in a given period
DYNAMX
Critical Dynamics in Microgravity
EC
experimental container
EMCS
European Modular Cultivation System