B
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ALSEP—the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package
ASTP—the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. mission
ATP—NASA’s Advanced Technology Program
Chang’e—a Chinese National Space Administration lunar orbiter
CHEX—the NRC’s Committee on the Human Exploration of Space
ESMD—NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
EVA—Extravehicular activity
ISRU—in situ resource utilization
KREEP—lunar basalts that are rich in potassium, rare-earth elements, and phosphorus
LCROSS—the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a secondary payload to be launched with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LHB—the Late Heavy Bombardment period, about 3.9 billion years ago
LPRP—the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
LRO—NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LSAM—NASA’s Lunar Surface Access Module
Lunar A—a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar mission
M3—Moon Mineralogy Mapper, an imaging spectrometer on the Indian Space Research Organization’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission
MER—NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover
SBE—surface boundary exosphere
SELENE—Selenological and Engineering Explorer, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency lunar orbiter
SIM—the Apollo Scientific Instrument Module, which contained panoramic and mapping cameras, a gamma-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, and a mass spectrometer
SMART-1—Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, a European Space Agency lunar mission
SMD—NASA’s Science Mission Directorate
SPA—the lunar South Pole-Aitken basin
Vision—NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration
