| Acronym | Meaning |
| VS | SNGVooruzhennikh Sil SNG |
| KTB | Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary |
| JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| TSTO | Two Stage To Orbit |
| AGN | Active Galactic Nucleus |
| IOA | Institute Of Astronomy (Cambridge) |
| RTG | Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator |
| DLR | Deutsche Forschungsanstalt Fuer Luft- Und Raumfahrt |
| SCT | Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope |
| AURA | Association Of Universities For Research In Astronomy |