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The
definitions provided are aimed at 4th-6th grade students who will
attend the Ames Exploration Encounter. Therefore, some definitions
may have
been simplified
so they relate more directly to the Encounter experience.
Exploring Space:
Basic
astronaut A
person who trains to fly into space. engineer A
person trained to design, construct, and operate mechanical or
electrical instruments. environment The
air, water, minerals, organisms and all other interconnected things
in a particular place. observation The
act of gathering information by watching or by remote sensing. payload All
the cargo, including scientific equipment, carried in a spacecraft. pulse A
heart beat. ration A
fixed amount of food or water when the supply is limited. recycle To
treat material so that it can be used again. solar
panel A device that changes sunlight into electricity;
made of solar cells. space
shuttle A reusable crewed spacecraft used to place satellites
in earth orbit and to conduct experiments. space
station A manned structure that orbits the Earth and
is used for a variety of purposes, especially research. space
suit A sealed and pressurized suit designed to allow
astronauts to leave a pressurized spacecraft. weightless Being
without weight, as an object in freefall or orbit. SPACE
STATION: Advanced cosmonaut A
Russian astronaut. dehydrate To
dry out. freefall A
condition where an object is falling without being stopped or slowed
down, if its surroundings are also falling at the same rate, the
object appears to float. This occurs on a spacecraft in orbit.
pressurize To
raise the atmospheric pressure to the desired level in a closed
area, such as a space suit.
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