Author: CislunarSpace
Website: https://cislunarspace.cn

Introduction

Research on cislunar space spans multiple areas, including orbital dynamics, guidance, navigation and control, deep-space mission design, and space environment modeling. Many terms are strongly interdisciplinary: the same concept may appear in textbooks, journal papers, project reports, and software documentation, often with slightly different wording or emphasis. For that reason, a concise and searchable glossary is especially useful for both beginners and active researchers.

This glossary is intended to organize the core terminology of the cislunar domain in a clear and consistent way. The goal is to provide short, accurate, and easy-to-reference explanations that help readers quickly understand the basic meaning of a term, its common abbreviation, and the context in which it is typically used.

The number of entries is still growing. At the current stage, we prioritize high-frequency concepts that commonly appear in cislunar mission analysis, orbit design, and autonomous navigation. Future updates will gradually expand coverage to libration-point orbits, low-energy transfers, deep-space autonomous navigation, spatiotemporal reference systems, and mission architectures.

Scope

Priority is given to terms that are fundamental, high-frequency, or methodologically important in cislunar research.
Entries are intended to include the Chinese term, English full name, common abbreviation, and a brief definition whenever applicable.
For terms with multiple translations or closely related meanings, clarification notes may be added in future revisions.
When a term is closely tied to mission design, orbit classes, or navigation methods, the entry may also include a short application context.

Reading Guide

If you are new to the cislunar field, it is recommended to start with entries related to dynamics and navigation, then continue with the sections on what cislunar space is, spacecraft orbits, and resources and tools. If you are already working on a focused topic, this page can serve as a quick index for locating concepts and cross-checking terminology used in the literature.

Outline

Update Note

This page will continue to grow with new glossary entries and a more complete taxonomy of cislunar space terminology.