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

Cislunar Space Glossary

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.

Outline

Fundamental Physics & Time-Frequency

Dynamical Models

Mission Orbits

Lunar Minerals

Other

Organizations

Space Transportation

Military Space Doctrine

Observation Techniques

DRO Orbit Design and Control

Satellite Communication & TT&C

Update Note

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

2026-04-29 Update (VI): New entries based on Li et al. (2026) Gravitational redshift test in a lunar distant retrograde orbit using a compact hydrogen maser:

  • Gravitational Redshift
  • Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM)
  • Dual One-Way Ranging (DOWR)
  • Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP)
  • Allan Deviation (ADEV)

2026-04-29 Update (V): New entries based on KASA Space Transportation / Satellite / Space Science Exploration Strategic Plan (2024):

  • Organizations: Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), Danuri Lunar Orbiter
  • Space Transportation: Reusable Launch Vehicle, Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), Lunar Lander, Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT), In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
  • Navigation: Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT)

2026-04-29 Update (IV): New "Satellite Communication & TT&C" section with 6 entries based on Duan et al. (2026) on full-time cislunar communication using BeiDou satellites:

  • BeiDou Satellite System
  • Inter-Satellite Link (ISL)
  • All-Time Seamless Communication
  • Constellation Networking
  • Microwave Link
  • Laser-Microwave Communication

2026-04-29 Update (III): 29 new entries based on Chen Yuju (2024) dissertation on DRO orbit design and control for cislunar space situational awareness:

  • Dynamical Models: Libration Point, Jacobi Constant, State Transition Matrix, Monodromy Matrix, Stability Index, Chaos Effect, Two-Level Differential Correction, Shooting Method, Continuation Method, Patch Point, Targeting Method, Dynamic Target Method, Initial Value Optimization, Solar Radiation Pressure, Differential Evolution
  • Mission Orbits: Quasi-Periodic Orbit, Resonance Orbit, Orbit Keeping
  • Military Doctrine: Cislunar Space Situational Awareness
  • Observation Techniques: Continuous Coverage
  • DRO Orbit Design and Control: Impulse Thrust, Floquet Mode, Solar Constant, Reflection Coefficient, Insertion Error, Navigation Error, Actuator Error, Period-Doubling Bifurcation

2026-04-29 Update (II): New "Observation Techniques" section with 14 entries based on Sun et al. (2026) on optical survey for cislunar moving objects:

  • Image Stacking, Shift-and-Add (SAA), Synthetic Tracking, Sidereal Tracking
  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Astrometry, Source Extraction, Ephemeris Correlation
  • Cislunar Moving Objects, Lunar Glare Zone
  • Image Registration, Background Star Elimination, Segmentation Map, Hot Pixel

2026-04-29 Update: New "Military Space Doctrine" section with 19 entries based on the USSF Space Force Vector 2025 doctrine document:

  • Space Superiority, Competitive Endurance
  • DOTMLPF-P Framework, Mission Command
  • Force Design, Force Development, Force Generation, Force Employment
  • SPAFORGEN, Mission Delta, System Delta
  • SMTF, COMSPACEFOR, Component Field Commands
  • Space Domain Awareness, Counterspace Operations, Resilient Architecture, OTTI, Golden Dome

2026-04-27 Update: New entries based on Jing et al. (2025) on LLM-based spacecraft intention recognition:

  • Clohessy-Wiltshire (CW) Equation
  • Noncooperative Target
  • Spacecraft Intention Recognition
  • Chain-of-Thought (CoT) Prompting
  • Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA)
  • Prompt Tuning (P-tuning)

2026-04-24 Update: Two new lunar minerals discovered from Chang'e-5 sample research:

  • Changeite-Mg (Magnesium Changeite)
  • Changeite-Ce (Cerium Changeite)

2026-04-23 Update: New entries added based on Qiao et al. (2025):

  • Birkhoff-Gustavson Normal Form
  • Central Manifold
  • Poincaré Section
  • Action-Angle Variables
  • Orbit Identification
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Contributors: ouyangjiahong, Hermes Agent, Cron Job