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Word of the Week

Space Psychologist

Examines the mental and emotional health of astronauts during long missions.

Previous Words of the Week:

Field of View

The area of sky or ground visible through a telescope or camera at one time.

Fit Astronauts

An experiment to design a series of exercises for the astronauts to carry out in Space.

Flight Director

Leads mission control operations and ensures astronaut and spacecraft safety.

Flight Path

The route or trajectory a rocket follows from launch to landing.

Force

A push or a pull that can change an object’s motion or shape.

Force Diagram

A labelled drawing showing the size and direction of forces acting on an object.

Free Fall

Motion under gravity alone, with no air resistance.

Friction

A contact force between surfaces that resists sliding.

Fuel Tank

The container that stores liquid or solid propellants for rocket engines.

Fusion

The process where hydrogen nuclei join to form helium, releasing massive amounts of energy.

Galactic Centre

The dense, central region of a galaxy, often containing a supermassive black hole.

Galaxy

A massive system of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity; the Milky Way is our galaxy.

Galaxy Cluster

A group of galaxies held together by gravity.

Gamma-Ray Burst

A short, intense burst of high-energy radiation from distant space, often caused by collapsing stars.

Gas Giant

A large planet made mainly of gases like hydrogen and helium (e.g., Jupiter or Saturn).

Gateway Space Station

It is a multi-purpose outpost, orbiting the Moon, that provides a platform for scientific experiments.

Geostationary Orbit (GEO)

A circular orbit above the equator (≈35 786 km) where a satellite appears fixed over one spot.

Gimbaling

A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis.

Gravitational Lensing

The bending of light as it passes near a massive object like a galaxy or black hole.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Stored energy due to an object’s position in a gravitational field.

Gravitational Waves

Ripples in space-time caused by massive accelerating objects, like merging black holes.

Gravity

The force that attracts objects with mass towards one another.

Ground Station

A base on Earth that communicates with satellites via radio signals.

Guidance System

The onboard computer system that controls direction and stability during flight.

Gyroscope

A spinning device used to sense and maintain orientation.

Heat Shield

A protective barrier that stops a spacecraft from burning up during atmospheric re-entry.

Helga & Zohar

Helga & Zohar are mannequin torsos.

Helium

The second-lightest element; produced by fusion in stars.

Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram

A graph showing the relationship between a star’s brightness and temperature.

Hohmann Transfer

An energy-efficient method to move between two circular orbits using two engine burns.

Hubble Constant

A number that measures how fast the universe is expanding.

Hubble Deep Field

A famous image showing thousands of distant galaxies in one small region of the sky.

Hubble Space Telescope

A space telescope launched in 1990 that observes distant stars, galaxies, and nebulae.

Hydrogen

The most common element in the universe and the main fuel for stars.

Ignition

The moment when fuel and oxidiser start burning in a rocket engine.

Impulse

The product of force × time; equals the change in momentum.

Inclination

The angle between a satellite’s orbital plane and Earth’s equator.

Inertia

An object’s tendency to resist changes in its motion.

Inertial Navigation

A guidance method using accelerometers and gyroscopes to track position without external signals.

Inflation (Cosmic)

A rapid expansion of the universe in the first tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang.

Infrared Telescope

A telescope that detects heat radiation to study cool or dusty regions of space.

Inner Planets

The four small, rocky planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Intergalactic Space

The vast empty regions between galaxies.

International Space Station (ISS)

A permanently crewed orbital laboratory where astronauts live and work in microgravity.

Interstellar Medium

The gas and dust that fill the space between stars in a galaxy.

James Webb Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope is an orbiting infrared observatory.

Jet Propulsion

Thrust produced when gases are expelled backwards from an engine, pushing it forwards.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of a moving object = ½ mv².

Kuiper Belt

A region beyond Neptune filled with icy bodies and dwarf planets like Pluto.

Lagrange Point

A point in space where gravitational forces balance, allowing satellites to “hover” stably.

Langrangian point

In a system dominated by two attracting bodies, a point at which a third, much smaller body keeps the same position relative to the other two.

Launch Pad

The platform and support structure from which rockets are launched.

Launch Poll

Launch poll is the final manual check that NASA carry out in preparation for a rocket launch.

Launch Vehicle

A rocket designed to carry a payload—such as a satellite or crew—into space.

LEO: Low Earth Orbit

Low Earth Orbit is considered the area in Earth orbit near enough to Earth up to 2,000km (1,200 miles) or less.

Lift

The upward aerodynamic force that counters weight.

Lift-Off

The moment a rocket leaves the launch pad and becomes airborne.

Lift-to-Drag Ratio

A measure of aerodynamic efficiency - higher ratios mean smoother flight.

Light Curve

A graph showing how a star’s brightness changes over time.

Light Pollution

Artificial light that reduces visibility of stars and celestial objects.

Light Spectrum

The range of electromagnetic waves emitted by stars; includes visible light and other wavelengths.

Liquid Fuel Rocket

A rocket that burns liquid fuel and oxidiser, which can be throttled or stopped.

Load

The total weight or force acting on a structure or vehicle.

Look-back Time

The time it takes light from distant objects to reach us — so we see them as they were in the past.

Luminosity

The total amount of energy a star emits per second.

Lunar Lander

A spacecraft built to land on and take off from the Moon’s surface.

Mach Number

The ratio of an object’s speed to the speed of sound.

Main Engine

The largest engine providing the main thrust for a rocket.

Main Sequence

The stable stage of a star’s life where it fuses hydrogen into helium.

Mannequins

Mannequins mimic the astronauts so NASA can measure certain effects of space travel.

MARE project

Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment

Mars – The Red Planet

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.

Mars Rover

A robotic vehicle designed to travel and collect data on the surface of Mars.

Mass

The amount of matter in an object; measured in kilograms (kg).

Max Q

Maximum dynamic pressure; the point during launch when the vehicle is subjected to its greatest aerodynamic stress.

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

Orbit between 2 000 – 35 000 km; used for navigation satellites like GPS.

Meteor

A small piece of rock burning up as it enters a planet’s atmosphere, producing a “shooting star.”

Meteorite

A meteor that survives its passage through the atmosphere and hits the ground.

Microgravity

A condition of very weak apparent gravity experienced in orbit.

Mission Control

The ground-based team that monitors and directs a space mission.

Mission Controller

Monitors spacecraft systems and communicates with astronauts in orbit.

Momentum

The product of an object’s mass × velocity — a measure of motion.

Moon

A natural satellite that orbits a planet. Earth’s Moon reflects sunlight, not its own light.

Moonikin Campos

Commander Moonikin Campos is a mannequin that helmed the Artemis 1 spacecraft.

Multistage Rocket

A rocket made of two or more sections that fire in sequence, each dropped when empty.

Multiverse

The idea that there might be many different universes beyond our own.

Navigation System

Equipment and software that track a spacecraft’s position and adjust its path.

Nebula

A giant cloud of dust and gas in space.

Neutron Star

The dense core left behind after a supernova explosion.

Newton (Unit)

The SI unit of force — one newton = force needed to accelerate 1 kg by 1 m/s².

Newton’s First Law

An object stays at rest or moves at constant speed unless acted on by a force.

Newton’s Second Law

Force = mass × acceleration (F = ma).

Newton’s Third Law

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Nova

A sudden increase in brightness of a star caused by a surface explosion.

Nozzle

The cone-shaped exit that accelerates exhaust gases to produce thrust.

Observable Universe

The part of the universe that we can see or detect light from — about 93 billion light years across.

Observatory

A specially designed building or facility for astronomical observation.

Orbit

The curved path an object takes around a planet, star, or galaxy due to gravity.

Orbit Period

The time it takes for a satellite to complete one full orbit.

Orbital Analyst

Calculates and predicts spacecraft trajectories and orbital paths.