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Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

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Glossary<br />

AAG: Astronomy <strong>and</strong> Astrophysics Research Grants program.<br />

Abiotic: Of or relat<strong>in</strong>g to nonliv<strong>in</strong>g th<strong>in</strong>gs; <strong>in</strong>dependent of life or liv<strong>in</strong>g organisms.<br />

Accretion: The process by which an astronomical objects <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> mass by <strong>the</strong> gravitational<br />

attraction of matter.<br />

Aeolian: Of or relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> w<strong>in</strong>d.<br />

Aerocapture: A technique employ<strong>in</strong>g a s<strong>in</strong>gle pass through a planetary body’s atmosphere to shed<br />

sufficient velocity to place a spacecraft <strong>in</strong>to orbit. Thus, avoid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> need <strong>for</strong> retrorockets.<br />

Albedo: The fraction of light that is reflected from <strong>the</strong> surface of a planetary body.<br />

ALICE: The NASA provided ultraviolet imag<strong>in</strong>g spectrometer on ESA’s Rosetta comet rendezvous<br />

mission.<br />

ALMA: Atacama Large Millimeter Array<br />

Am<strong>in</strong>o acid: Any organic compound conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g an am<strong>in</strong>o (NH2) <strong>and</strong> a carboxyl (COOH). They<br />

polymerize to <strong>for</strong>m peptides <strong>and</strong> prote<strong>in</strong>s.<br />

ANSMET: NSF’s Antarctic Search <strong>for</strong> Meteorites program<br />

Anthropogenic: Caused or produced by humans<br />

AO: Adaptive optics<br />

AO: Announcement of Opportunity<br />

APL: Johns Hopk<strong>in</strong>s University Applied Physics Laboratory<br />

Aquifer: Any geological <strong>for</strong>mation conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g or conduct<strong>in</strong>g ground water<br />

ARTEMIS: A NASA spacecraft designed to study <strong>the</strong> Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence <strong>and</strong><br />

Electrodynamics of <strong>the</strong> Moon’s Interaction with <strong>the</strong> Sun.<br />

ASPERA: The Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyzer <strong>in</strong>strument that have flown on several ESA<br />

spacecraft.<br />

ASRG: Advanced Stirl<strong>in</strong>g Radioisotope Generator.<br />

Astrobiology: The study of <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>s, evolution, <strong>and</strong> distribution of life <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> universe.<br />

AU: Astronomical unit; <strong>the</strong> mean distance from <strong>the</strong> Earth to <strong>the</strong> Sun.<br />

Biosignature: A sign that can be <strong>in</strong>terpreted as evidence of life.<br />

PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION<br />

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