A lookup page for the acronyms and terms of art used across this library — each
with a one-sentence definition and a link to the article that owns it (the
authoritative source for the term). Entries marked ◆ are used in the wiki
without their long form spelled out anywhere in it; their expansions are
reconstructed from the source documents and flagged. This is a navigation aid, not a
thematic concept: treat each owning article as
authoritative if a one-line definition here ever drifts. A companion version with
usage notes is the wiki glossary.
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| GET | Ground elapsed time — the mission stopwatch (hours:minutes:seconds since liftoff) that tags every Flight Plan sheet and transcript line. | Flight Plan note · nominal timeline |
| REV | The lunar-revolution counter the Flight Plan runs alongside GET (undocking on rev 13, EVA across revs 16–17). | Flight Plan note |
| STAY/NO-STAY | The post-touchdown decision gates — the first at touchdown +8 minutes — that either commit Eagle to an immediate emergency liftoff or extend the stay. | LM checklists |
| SUR-1…68 | The page numbering of the onboard LM Lunar Surface Checklist, from the T+8 STAY decision to ascent readiness. | checklist source note |
| LSOP | The Lunar Surface Operations Plan — the pre-flight surface/EVA script whose priority-ordered task ladder governed the moonwalk. | LSOP note |
| CPCB | The Crew Procedures Control Board, which held crew procedures (including the LSOP) under configuration control. | LSOP note |
| AS-506 / CSM-107 / LM-5 | The mission’s vehicle-set designators: the Saturn launch vehicle, the command-service module, and the lunar module. | Apollo 11 mission |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| Saturn V | The three-stage launch vehicle that lifted the stack from LC-39A at 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969. | Apollo 11 mission |
| S-IVB | The Saturn stage reignited for translunar injection; later missions crashed spent S-IVBs as seismic calibration shots of known energy. | LSOP note · PSE results |
| LM | The Lunar Module — Eagle, the two-stage lander that flew the descent, the surface stay, and the one-engine-no-backup ascent. | Lunar Module Eagle |
| CSM / CM / SM | The Command and Service Module Columbia: the CM crew cabin (the only part to return) plus the SM propulsion/service section jettisoned before entry. | Columbia |
| Eagle / Columbia / Tranquility (Base) | The radio callsigns — the transcript switches the LM from Eagle to Tranquility Base after the landing announcement. | GOSS NET 1 · Tranquility Base |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| CDR / CMP / LMP | The crew positions as transcript speaker codes: Commander (Armstrong), Command Module Pilot (Collins), Lunar Module Pilot (Aldrin). | GOSS NET 1 |
| CC / CAP COMM | The Capsule Communicator — the single Mission Control voice that talks to the crew. | GOSS NET 1 |
| PAO | The Public Affairs Officer — the “Apollo Control” narration broadcast around the live loop, the public leg of the voice record. | PAO source note |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| EMU | The extravehicular mobility unit — the integrated suit-plus-life-support ensemble whose performance the Mission Report grades in §10. | EVA equipment |
| PGA | The Pressure Garment Assembly — the suit itself, holding ~3.85 psia, with the leg pocket that carried the contingency sampler. | EVA equipment |
| PLSS | The Portable Life Support System — the backpack supplying oxygen, cooling water, and communications for the moonwalk. | EVA equipment |
| OPS | The Oxygen Purge System — the ~5880-psia emergency oxygen pack mounted atop the PLSS. | EVA equipment |
| RCU | The chest-mounted Remote Control Unit — home of the infamous 50-pin connector that fought the crew during EVA prep. | EVA equipment |
| LEVA | The Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly — the overvisor locked onto the helmet for the surface. | EVA equipment |
| LEC | The Lunar Equipment Conveyor — the pulley “clothesline” that moved cameras and rock boxes through the hatch (and rained dust into the cabin). | EVA equipment |
| MESA | The Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly — the descent-stage fold-down bay carrying the TV camera, tools, and sample containers. | TV & communications · EVA equipment |
| SEQ bay ◆ | The LM descent-stage bay from which the two EASEP packages were pulled out on booms. | EASEP |
| ECS ◆ | The LM’s environmental control system — its spent canister was jettisoned with the PLSSs after the EVA (expansion via Mission Report §16). | EVA equipment |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| SRC / “rock box” | Sample Return Container — the two sealed boxes (~130 lb capacity together) that carried the samples home. | Sampling tools |
| ALSRC | Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container — the rock box proper, sealed by a knife edge driven into soft indium. | Sampling tools |
| CSRC | The Contingency Sample Return Container — the bag for the first grab sample, stowed in Armstrong’s suit pocket. | Sample collection |
| GASC | The Gas Analysis Sample Container — a small stainless vacuum can of soil for later gas analysis. | Sampling tools |
| SESC | The Special Environmental Sample Container — knife-edge-into-indium sealed soil kept pristine against terrestrial contamination. | Sampling tools |
| MET ◆ | The later missions’ wheeled tool carrier — named in this library only by the Apollo 11 kit’s negative inventory. | Sampling tools |
| gnomon | The free-swinging staff photographed beside samples to give scale, Sun angle, and local vertical. | Sampling tools |
| contingency / bulk / documented | The three-tier sampling sequence — grab-first, scoop-much, document-best — that termination-proofed the EVA’s science. | Sample collection · EVA |
| PSR classes A/B/C/D | The Preliminary Science Report’s sample classification: A/B crystalline basalts, C breccias, D fines. | Sample inventory |
| CRE | Cosmic-ray exposure (age) — how long a sample sat within reach of cosmic rays at the surface, from cosmogenic nuclides and tracks. | Surface exposure · sample inventory |
| Iₛ/FeO | The soil-maturity index — ~75 for reference soil 10084, marking a mature, long-gardened regolith. | Regolith |
| high-K / low-K | The two chemically and chronologically distinct Apollo 11 basalt suites (~3.6 vs ~3.7–3.85 Gyr), split on potassium. | Basalt suites |
| armalcolite · tranquillityite · pyroxferroite | The three minerals new to science first described from Apollo 11 samples — the first named for ARMstrong/ALdrin/COLlins. | Minerals first identified |
| regolith / fines / breccia / agglutinates | The impact-built soil blanket; its sub-cm fraction; impact-welded rock; and the glass-bonded soil clusters that mark maturity. | Regolith · sample types |
| fillets / zap pits | Soil banked against rocks, and micrometeorite craterlets on exposed faces — both used to read a sample’s surface history. | Field geology · surface exposure |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| EASEP | The Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package — Apollo 11’s two-package science suite (PSEP + LRRR), the descoped precursor of ALSEP. | EASEP |
| ALSEP | The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package of later missions — heavier, RTG-powered, multi-instrument. | EASEP |
| PSE (S-031) | The Passive Seismic Experiment — the first seismometer on another world. | PSE |
| PSEP | The Passive Seismic Experiment Package — the PSE instrument plus its self-contained solar-powered station (~48 kg). | EASEP |
| LRRR / LR³ (S-078) | The Laser Ranging Retroreflector — 100 corner cubes still returning laser pulses today. | LRRR |
| SWC (S-080) | The Solar Wind Composition experiment — the aluminum foil unrolled toward the Sun and returned for noble-gas analysis. | SWC |
| S-059 | The experiment number of lunar field geology — the lowest-priority, time-cut science objective. | Field geology |
| EPS | The PSEP’s Electrical Power Subsystem — six 420-cell solar panels, the design choice that limited the station to lunar daytime. | EASEP |
| RTG ◆ | The radioisotope power supply of later ALSEP stations — the night-surviving alternative to EASEP’s solar panels. | PSE results |
| LLR | Lunar laser ranging — the Earth-to-LRRR measurement program (3.82 cm/yr lunar recession, relativity tests). | LLR results |
| MLRS / CERGA / LURE-1 ◆ | Later laser-ranging stations of the LLR network (McDonald, France, Hawaii) that kept the experiment alive for decades. | LLR results |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| ALSCC | The Apollo Lunar Surface Close-up Camera — the stereo macro camera for centimeter-scale soil pictures. | Surface photography |
| DAC | The 16-mm Data Acquisition Camera — the sequence camera (5/10/15/75-mm lenses) that filmed the descent and EVA from the window. | Photographic index |
| AS11-mm-ffff | The frame-numbering scheme: mission, magazine, frame (e.g. AS11-40-5903, the Aldrin “Visor Shot”). | Photographic index |
| LRO | The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter — whose low-orbit pass photographed the landing site in 2011. | LROC imaging |
| LROC / NAC | The LRO Camera and its Narrow Angle Camera — frame NAC M175124932R (~25 cm/px) is the library’s picture of Tranquility Base today. | LROC imaging |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| GOSS NET 1 | Ground Operational Support System Network 1 — the technical air-to-ground voice loop whose verbatim transcript is the mission’s spine. | GOSS NET 1 |
| MSFN | The Manned Space Flight Network — the worldwide dish chain (with the DSN) that carried voice, TV, and telemetry. | TV & communications |
| AOS / LOS | Acquisition / loss of signal — the rhythm of contact as spacecraft swung around the Moon or between ground stations. | TV & communications |
| (unified) S-band | The single radio system combining voice, TV, telemetry, and ranging — via Eagle’s steerable antenna with OMNI (omnidirectional) antennas as backup. | TV & communications |
| DSE | The command module’s Data Storage Equipment — Columbia’s onboard voice recorder, the tape leg of the record. | CM transcript note |
| DSEA ◆ | The LM’s equivalent recorder, which failed in flight (Mission Report §16.2.10) — the reason no Eagle cabin transcript exists. | Communications topic |
| MILA | One of the named remote tracking stations of the loop, with Canary, Carnarvon, Honeysuckle, Goldstone (and Parkes for TV). | GOSS NET 1 |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| PGNS ◆ | The LM’s primary guidance and navigation system — one of the three voices (“PGNS, AGS, and MSFN all agree”) tracking the ascent. | Ascent & rendezvous |
| AGS ◆ | The abort guidance system — the LM’s backup computer, monitored in parallel through ascent (its DEDA display lost a digit segment, §16.2.7). | Ascent & rendezvous |
| P22 | The CSM landmark-tracking computer program Collins ran trying to find Eagle on the surface. | Columbia |
| P64 (→ P66) | The descent program at whose pitchover Armstrong saw the boulder field and took manual control (flying down in P66). | Powered descent |
| 1202 / 1201 | The executive-overflow program alarms of the descent — the computer overloaded but flying, called GO by the ground. | Powered descent |
| PYRO | The pyrotechnic separation devices — the “appreciable bang of the PYRO’s” at lunar liftoff. | Ascent & rendezvous |
| RCS | The reaction control system — the small attitude thrusters on both spacecraft (quads A–D on the SM). | Columbia · LM checklists |
| TLI | Translunar injection — the S-IVB’s reignition that sent the stack moonward. | LSOP note |
| LOI | Lunar orbit insertion — the SPS burns behind the Moon into (then circularizing) lunar orbit. | Columbia · Debriefing Vol 1 note |
| DOI ◆ | Descent orbit insertion — the burn lowering Eagle’s pericynthion toward the descent (expansion per the planning documents). | Debriefing Vol 1 note |
| PDI ◆ | Powered descent initiation — engine light-up for the landing itself (the checklist keys the T+8 STAY decision to PDI+20). | LM checklist note |
| TEI | Transearth injection — the SPS burn out of lunar orbit for home. | Columbia · Debriefing Vol 2 note |
| CSI / CDH / TPI | The rendezvous burn sequence — coelliptic sequence initiation, constant delta-height, terminal phase initiation — that brought Eagle up to Columbia. | Ascent & rendezvous |
| pericynthion | The low point of a lunar orbit — where the powered descent was initialized. | Powered descent |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| BIG | The biological isolation garment donned in the raft after splashdown — the first link in the back-contamination chain. | Quarantine |
| MQF | The Mobile Quarantine Facility — the sealed trailer aboard USS Hornet the crew entered minutes after recovery. | Quarantine |
| LRL | The Lunar Receiving Laboratory at MSC — quarantine’s terminus for crew, spacecraft, and samples (“Time to open up the LRL doors, Charlie”). | Quarantine |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| LLTV | The Lunar Landing Training Vehicle — the free-flying jet-and-rockets rig that rehearsed the manual final approach. | Training & simulations |
| KC-135 | The parabolic-flight aircraft used for 1/6-g practice — judged a poor simulator of lunar traction. | Surface mobility |
| Term | Definition | Lives in |
|---|
| MSC / JSC / KSC | The Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston (later Johnson Space Center), and Kennedy Space Center — the operational poles of the record. | Mission · quarantine |
| NTRS ◆ | NASA’s technical-reports archive — the accession numbers cited in the source notes for the scanned originals. | LSOP note (and others) |
| AAAS | The American Association for the Advancement of Science — Science’s publisher, flagged because the two LLR reprints are © AAAS, not public domain. | source registry · Bender note |
| NASA SP-214 / SP-368 / SP-370 · MSC-00171 · JSC 12522 · JSC-23454 · HSI-38438 · SKB32100074-363 | The canonical document IDs preserved in the source filenames: the Preliminary Science Report, Biomedical Results, the Latham volume, the Mission Report, the Sample Catalogue, the tools catalog, the EVA Procedures, and the LM surface checklist part number. | the corresponding source notes |
For completeness: terms that appear in the source documents or analyses but nowhere in wiki/ itself, so they have no glossary row above —
VOX (voice-keyed transmission, anomaly 16.2.8), DSKY (the guidance
computer’s display/keyboard), LPD (landing point designator), EVCS (EVA
communications system, checklist pages), SLA (the adapter the CSM-LM stack
was ejected from), DPS/APS (descent/ascent propulsion systems), MCC-n
(midcourse corrections), EI (entry interface), ISA / LHSSC (stowage
locations on the checklist pages). If their home material is ever gain their own articles, they belong in this glossary.