// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM
Celestial Body
A celestial body is any natural object found in space, such as a planet, moon, asteroid, or star. It exists outside of Earth's atmosphere.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A natural astronomical object, such as a planet, moon, asteroid, or star, existing in outer space and subject to gravitational forces within a larger system.
BACKGROUND
Outer space, or simply space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth's atmosphere and between celestial bodies. It contains ultra-low levels of particle densities, constituting a near-perfect vacuum of predominantly hydrogen and helium plasma, permeated by electromagnetic radiation, cosmic rays, neutrinos, magnetic fields and dust. The baseline temperature of outer space, as set by the background radiation from the Big Bang, is 2.7 kelvins.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Astronomical object
- Heavenly body
- Space object
- Cosmic body
USAGE NOTE
Scientists study the composition and motion of various celestial bodies.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Celestial Body.
The United States' civil space agency responsible for numerous robotic and human exploration missions to celestial bodies, including the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon and the Mars Exploration Program with its rovers.
An aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company developing the Starship launch vehicle with the goal of enabling human settlement on Mars. They are also developing the Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA's Artemis lunar missions.
A private company that develops autonomous systems and lunar landers. As part of NASA's CLPS program, their Nova-C lander became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully land on the Moon in February 2024.
A company developing lunar landers, rovers, and other space robotics technology to deliver payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, and universities under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
An intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space. ESA conducts missions to study the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies, such as the BepiColombo mission to Mercury and the JUICE mission to Jupiter's icy moons.
A Japanese company building robotic landers and rovers to provide high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. They aim to establish a commercially viable ecosystem in cislunar space.
A research laboratory that builds and operates robotic spacecraft for NASA. APL managed the DART mission, which successfully demonstrated planetary defense technology by impacting an asteroid, and is developing the Dragonfly rotorcraft for exploring Saturn's moon, Titan.
A private startup focused on developing the technology for in-space resource utilization, specifically aiming to mine and process valuable minerals like platinum-group metals from near-Earth asteroids.
A construction technology company that is developing 3D-printing technologies for large-scale structures. Through a NASA contract, they are adapting their technology to build habitats on the Moon and Mars using local materials like regolith.