Space and Astronomy Pictionary

The Space and Astronomy Pictionary is being developed to support deaf student involvement in several national projects, including the Jason Project and Space Camp. The Pictionary includes terms, available technical signs, a picture, and sometimes a description of the term. If you are aware of signs for any of the terms below which do not yet have signs, please contact us at


 A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z 

A
Ablative Material

Able

Abiotic

Abort

Abort Advisory Check

Abort-Once-Around (AOA)

Abort-To-Orbit (ATO)

Accelerate

Acidic

Acquisition

Acquisition Of Signal (AOS)

Actuator

Aerobrake

Aerodynamic Skip

Airborne Data

Airlock

Air Data Probes

Air-To-Ground

Alkaline

Alloy

Altitude

Analog

Angle Of Attack

Apogee

Apollo 11

Apollo Spacecraft

Apollo-Soyuz

Asteroid

Asteroid Belt

Astrobiology

Astronaut

Astronomy

Atmosphere

Atmosphere pressure

Attitude

Autoland Guidance

Auto-Sequencer

Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

Auxiliary Stage

Axis

Azimuth

B
Back-up Crew

Baker, Miss (Miss Baker)

Baseline

Bearing

Beta Angle

Biosignature

Biosphere

Biotic

Boiling Point

Booster

Burnout

C
Caldera

Call to Station

Canyon

Capsule

Cargo

Cargo Bay

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

Caution and Warning (C & W)

Celsius Degree

Centrifugal Force

Centrifuge

Centripetal Force

Channel

Chemosynthesis

Chromatography

Cold (Temperature)

Comets

Commander

Constellation

Consumables

Controls

Cosmic Radiation

Cosmology

Cratering

Craters

Crawler

Crosswind

Crust

Cue Card

Cyanobacteria

D
Data

Deorbit burn

Dependent Variable

Deployment

Depress or Depressurize

Digital Auto Pilot (DAP)

Digital Display Unit (DDU)

Discover

Dock / Undock

Docking Module

DOFF

DON

Dormant

Downrange


E
Earth

Ecosystem

Egress

Ejecta

Electromagnetic Radiation

Emissivity

Energy

Energy Transfer

Erosion

Escape Velocity

The European Space Agency (ESA)

External Tank of the Shuttle (ET)

External Tank separation (ET SEP)

Extravehicular

Extravehicular Activity (EVA)

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)

Extreme Environment

Extremophile

F
5 DF (Five D-F)

Fahrenheit Degree

Feet Per Second (FPS)

Fixed Service Structure (FSS)

Flare

Flight Control System

Flight Director

Flight Kit

Food Chain

Force

Forward Propellants

Fossil

Free-Flight Rocket

Freeze

Freezing Point

Friction

Fuel Cell

Full Flare

Full Stop

Fusion

G
G (or G-Force)

Galaxy

Gas (molecules)

Gear

General Purpose Computer (GPC)

Glide Slope

Go

Gravitation

Gravity

Green

Guidance System

Gyroscope

H
H2

Hardness

Heat Tile

Hologram

Hood

Hydraulic Pressure

Hydrazine

Hypersaline

Hypothesis

I
Igneous

Ignition

Impact Crater

Impactor

Inclination

Independent Variable

Inertia

Inertial Upper Stage (IUS)

Infrared Radiation

Ingress

Intravehicular Activity (IVA)

Ionization

Ionization Blackout

J
JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

JSC (Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center)

Joystick

Jupiter

K
KSC (John F. Kennedy Space Center)

Keypad

Kinetic Energy

L
Launch Control

Launch Pad

Launch Window

Lava Flow

Liftoff

Lightyear

Liquid Oxygen (LOX)

Load

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF)

Loss of Signal (LOS)

Lunar Base

Lunar Gravity

Lunar Rover

M
Mach (1, 2, 3, etc)

Main Engine Cut-Off (MECO)

MAINS

Maneuver

Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU)

Mars

Marshall Operations / OPS

MSFC (George C. Marshall Space Flight Center)

Martian Meteorite

Martian Soil

Mass

Max Q

Melting Point

Mercury

Metamorphic

Meteoroid

Microbial Mat

Microbiologist

Micron

Microorganism

Mineral

Mission

Mission Control

Mission Elapsed Time (MET)

Mission Specialist

Module

Molten Rock

Moon

Mountains

Multiple-Axis Space Test Inertia Facility (Mastif)

N
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Nautical Mile (NM)

Nebula

Neptune

Neutral Buoyancy

Nose Cone

Nutrients

O
"Other side of the hill" or "Over the hill"

1-G (or One-g)

O2

Orbit

Orbital Insertion

Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS)

Orbiter

Orbiter Processing Facility

Organic Matter

Ozone Layer

P
Pallet

Payload

Payload Assist Module (PAM)

Payload Operations Control Center (POCC)

Payload Specialist

Perigee

Phase Change

Photosynthesis

Pilot

Pitch

Planet

Plate

Pluto

Potential Energy

Pounds per square inch Atmospheric (PSIA)

Power Up / Down

Press or Pressurize

Press to MECO

Principal Investigator (PI)

Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships

Principle of Superposition

Probe

Propulsion

Pulsar

Q

Qualitative Observation

Quantitative Observation

R
Radiation

Radio Command

Radio Telescope

Range

Re-entry

Reaction

Reaction Control System (RCS)

Rehydrateable Food

Remote Manipulator System (RMS)

Rendezvous

Research Question

Retrieval

Retrorocket

Return-to-Launch-Site (RTLS)

Reverse Thrust

Rim

Robotics

Rock

Rocket

Rocket Engine

Roger

Roll

Rotating Service Structure (RSS)

S
S-Turn

Safe / Safing

Saturn

Saturn V

Scale Factor

Scientific Notation

Scrub

Sedimentary

Sidereal

Simulator

Skylab

Soil

Sol

Solar Array

Solar Cell

Solar Disc

Solar Energy

Solar Limb

Solar System

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB)

Solid Rocket Booster Separation (SRB SEP)

Sounding Rocket

Space Biology

Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)

Space Transportation System (STS)

Spacelab

Spectrometer

Spectrum

Speed Brake

Spinoff

Star

Stow / Unstow

Stratosphere

Streak

Sun

T
Tectonics

Telemetry

Throttle

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System
(TDRSS)

Trajectory

Trans-Oceanic Abort Landing (TAL)

U
Ultraviolet

Umbilical Line

Universe

Uranus

V
Van Allen Radiation Belts

Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)

Velcro

Velocity

Venus

Volcanism

Volcano

Von Braun, Wernher (Wernher Von Braun)

W
Wallops Island

Wavelength

Weight

Weightlessness

Work Station

X

Y
Yaw

Z
Zero-G