3-D printing: A means of producing physical items — including toys, foods and even body parts — using a machine that takes instructions from a computer program. That program tells the machine how and where to lay down successive layers of some raw material (the “ink”) to create a three-dimensional object.
air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules.
analog: Something that resembles, stands in for, or is similar to another thing.
Antarctica: A continent mostly covered in ice, which sits in the southernmost part of the world.
astronaut: Someone trained to travel into space for research and exploration.
atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon.
average: (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.
biomedicine: The field of research that explores the biological basis of injuries or disease and their treatments.
carbon dioxide: (or CO2) A colorless, odorless gas produced by all animals when the oxygen they inhale reacts with the carbon-rich foods that they’ve eaten. Carbon dioxide also is released when organic matter burns (including fossil fuels like oil or gas). Carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis, the process they use to make their own food.
drone: A remote-controlled, pilotless aircraft or missile.
engineer: A person who uses science and math to solve problems. As a verb, to engineer means to design a device, material or process that will solve some problem or unmet need.
environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).
expedition: A journey (usually relatively long or over a great distance) that a group of people take for some defined purpose, such as to map a region’s plant life or to study the local microclimate.
extraterrestrial: (ET) Anything of or from regions beyond Earth.
factor: Something that plays a role in a particular condition or event; a contributor.
gravity: The force that attracts anything with mass, or bulk, toward any other thing with mass. The more mass that something has, the greater its gravity.
habitat: The area or natural environment in which an animal or plant normally lives, such as a desert, coral reef or freshwater lake. A habitat can be home to thousands of different species.
infectious: An adjective that describes a type of microbe or virus that can be transmitted to people, animals or other living things.
lander: A special, small vehicle designed to ferry humans or scientific equipment between a spacecraft and the celestial body they will explore.
liver: An organ of the body of animals with backbones that performs a number of important functions. It can store fat and sugar as energy, break down harmful substances for excretion by the body, and secrete bile, a greenish fluid released into the gut, where it helps digest fats and neutralize acids.
Mars: The fourth planet from the sun, just one planet out from Earth. Like Earth, it has seasons and moisture. But its diameter is only about half as big as Earth’s.
mental health: A term for someone’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. It refers to how people behave on their own and how they interact with others. It includes how people make choices, handle stress and manage fear or anxiety. Poor mental health can be triggered by disease or merely reflect a short-term response to life’s challenges. It can occur in people of any age, from babies to the elderly.
microbiologist: Scientists who study microorganisms, the infections they might cause or ways that they can interact with their environment.
microgravity: Gravity that is a fraction of the force experienced at sea level on Earth.
model: A simulation of a real-world event (usually using a computer) that has been developed to predict one or more likely outcomes. Or an individual that is meant to display how something would work in or look on others.
monitor: To test, sample or watch something, especially on a regular or ongoing basis.
moon: The natural satellite of any planet.
NASA: Short for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Created in 1958, this U.S. agency has become a leader in space research and in stimulating public interest in space exploration. It was through NASA that the United States sent people into orbit and ultimately to the moon. It also has sent research craft to study planets and other celestial objects in our solar system.
nitrogen: A colorless, odorless and nonreactive gaseous element that forms about 78 percent of Earth’s atmosphere.
oxygen: A gas that makes up about 21 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. All animals and many microorganisms need oxygen to fuel their growth (and metabolism).
PhD: (also known as a doctorate) A type of advanced degree offered by universities — typically after five or six years of study — for work that creates new knowledge. People qualify to begin this type of graduate study only after having first completed a college degree (a program that typically takes four years of study).
physical: (in biology and medicine) The term can refer to the body, as in a physical exam or physical activity.
planet: A large celestial object that orbits a star but unlike a star does not generate any visible light.
pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
radiation: (in physics) One of the three major ways that energy is transferred. (The other two are conduction and convection.) In radiation, electromagnetic waves carry energy from one place to another. Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to help transfer the energy, radiation can transfer energy across empty space.
Red Planet: A nickname for Mars.
resilient: (n. resilience) To be able to recover fairly quickly from obstacles or difficult conditions. (in materials) The ability of something to spring back or recover to its original shape after bending or otherwise contorting the material.
simulate: To deceive in some way by imitating the form or function of something. A simulated dietary fat, for instance, may deceive the mouth that it has tasted a real fat because it has the same feel on the tongue — without having any calories. A simulated sense of touch may fool the brain into thinking a finger has touched something even though a hand may no longer exists and has been replaced by a synthetic limb.
stem cell: A “blank slate” cell that can give rise to other types of cells in the body. Stem cells play an important role in tissue regeneration and repair.
structural engineer: An individual who uses science to determine the strength or vulnerabilities of a building, bridge or other structure.
survey: To view, examine, measure or evaluate something, often land or broad aspects of a landscape.
terrestrial: Having to do with planet Earth, especially its land. Terra is Latin for Earth.
transmit: (n. transmission) To send or pass along.
unique: Something that is unlike anything else; the only one of its kind.
vertical farming: A term for growing crops indoors, often on a series of floors or levels. These plants can yield crops year-round because their light, temperature, water and nutrients are carefully controlled. Some experimental vertical farms now grow fruits and vegetables in high-rise buildings within big cities. This helps to keep transportation costs to consumers low and delivery of good fresh and fast.