Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms are commonly used in space science. Here is an alphabetical listing of the ones used in the website.

• ACP: Aerosol Collector Pyrolyzer; part of Huygens probe


• AEB: Atmospheric Experiment Branch, Old Code 915 at NASA GSFC
  
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• On January 23, 2005 we became the Atmospheric Experiments Laboratory (Code 699) in the Solar System Exploration Division (Code 690) of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate (Code 600).
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• AEL: Atmospheric Experiments Laboratory, see AEB
  
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• AMU: Atomic Mass Unit (old terminology, replaced by dalton)


• ASI: Italian Space Agency


• AU: Astronomical Units


• CAPS: Cassini Plasma Spectrometer; part of Cassini spacecraft


• Cassini RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging Instrument; part of Cassini spacecraft


• CDA: Cosmic Dust Analyzer; part of Cassini spacecraft


• CIRS: Composite Infrared Spectrometer; part of Cassini spacecraft


• Da: Dalton, (Da) Unified atomic mass unit


• DISR: Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer; part of Huygens probe


• DM: Descent Module; part of Huygens probe


• DWE: Doppler Wind Experiment; part of Huygens probe


• EDT: Eastern Dailylight Saving Time


• ENA: Entry Assembly; part of Huygens probe


• ESA: European Space Agency


• ESD: Earth Sciences Directorate, (formerly Code 900)  Now the 
• Earth-Sun Exploration Division, Code 610, at NASA GSFC
  


• ESOC: European Space Operations Center (Darmstadt, Germany)


• GC: Gas Chromatograph


• GCMS: Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer


• GSFC: Goddard Space Flight Center


• HASI: Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument; part of Huygens probe


• Hz: Hertz


• INMS: Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer; part of Cassini spacecraft
• Designed and built by the AEL as a "facility instrument" for the mission
  


• ISS: Imaging Science Subsystem; part of Cassini spacecraft


• JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory


• LA: Laboratory for Atmospheres, Code 613 (formerly Code 910) at NASA GSFC


• MAG: Dual Technique MAgnetometer; part of Cassini spacecraft


• MIMI: Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument; part of Cassini spacecraft


• MS: Mass Spectrometer


• NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration


• PDS: NASA's Planetary Data System


• PSA: European Space Agency's Planetary Sciences Archives


• PSE: Probe Support Equipment; part of Huygens probe


• PVA: Probe Support Avionics; part of Huygens probe


• RF: Radio Frequency


• RFE: Receiver Front End; part of Huygens probe


• RPWS: Radio and Plasma Wave Science; part of Cassini spacecraft


• RSS: Radio Science Subsystem; part of Cassini spacecraft


• RTG: Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators; part of Cassini spacecraft


• RUSO: Receiver Ultra Stable Oscillator; part of Huygens probe


• SSP: Surface Science Package; part of Huygens probe
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• SSED: Solar System Exploration Division (Code 690) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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• UTC: Universal Time


• UVIS: Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph; part of Cassini spacecraft


• VIMS: Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer; part of Cassini spacecraft

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Site Developer/Designer: Catherine Micek