Space Travel Terminology

Question 1

EVA (Extravehicular Activity)

Answer 1

Any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft.

The astronaut is completely reliant on a spacesuit for environmental support.

Question 2

Frame of Reference

Answer 2

Coordinate system used to specify the location or motion of an object. Describes motion relative to a fixed point or another object.

Different frames of reference can yield different observations of the same event.

Question 3

Inertial Frame of Reference

Answer 3

A frame in which an object remains at rest or moves at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external source.

Question 4

Non-internal reference frame

Answer 4

A frame that is accelerating or rotating. In these frames, objects appear to experience fictitious forces like centrifugal or Coriolis forces, even if no real forces act on them.

Question 5

Fictitious Force

Answer 5

Also known as pseudo force or inertial force- a perceived force that appears to act on an object in a non- inertial reference frame.

These forces arise due to the acceleration or rotation of the reference frame itself and are not caused by any physical interaction.

Question 6

Centrifugal force

Answer 6

A fictitious force that appears in a rotating reference frame. It acts outward from the axis of rotation, away from the center.

This force is perceived when an object is moving in a circular path within the rotating frame, causing it to feel as if it’s being pushed away from the center.

A result of the inertia of an object wanting to move in a straight line but being constrained by the circular motion within the rotating frame.