| Acronym | Meaning |
| MTPE | Mission To Planet Earth |
| IPS | Inertial Pointing System |
| SAT | Synthetic Aperture Telescope |
| CRRES | Combined Release/Radiation Effects Satellite |
| PVO | Pioneer Venus Orbiter / Protivo-Vosdushniya Oborona |
| WFPC | Wide Field/Planetary Camera |
| MJD | Modified Julian Date |
| ACF | Automated Control Function |
| ATCS | Active Thermal Control System |
| APJ | Astrophysical Journal |