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Letter P

P is for…

NASA’s Picture Dictionary

Check out what P stands for …

Payload Bay
Planets
Prime Meridian
Probe
Propulsion

Payload Bay

The area inside the space shuttle orbiter where cargo was packed.

A space shuttle's payload bay can be seen through open doors
As the space shuttle Discovery flies near the International Space Station for docking, its payload bay doors are open. The Leonardo Multipurpose Logistics Module is resting inside the payload bay.
NASA

Sentences:

The payload bay doors were opened to help cool the shuttle after it was in orbit.
The payload bay held large cargo going to the space station.

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Planets

Large round objects that revolve around a star.

A set of photographs, taken by NASA spacecraft, of the eight planets and Earth’s moon
Images of the planets in our solar system taken by NASA spacecraft are grouped together to show (from top to bottom) Mercury, Venus, Earth and its moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Sentences:

NASA has studied all the planets in the solar system.
Our solar system has eight planets.

Related Links:
The Solar System at NASA Space Place
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Prime Meridian

An imaginary line on Earth that passes north to south through the Greenwich Observatory in London, England.

Globe with lines of longitude and latitude
The prime meridian is the line drawn north to south at 0° (0 degrees) longitude.
NASA

Sentences:

The prime meridian divides Earth into the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.

The prime meridian is at 0° (0 degrees) longitude.

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Probe

A spacecraft that has tools to gather information about Earth, the moon, another planet or outer space.

This drawing shows Titan's surface with Saturn in the background.
The Huygens probe was designed to study the clouds, atmosphere and surface of one of Saturn’s moons, Titan.
NASA

Sentences:

NASA has sent probes to all the planets in our solar system.
The Spirit and Opportunity rovers are two probes that were sent to Mars.

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Propulsion

The force that pushes forward or drives an object forward.

The X-15 launches with its rocket engine ignited
Rocket engine propulsion made this airplane fly faster than the speed of sound.
NASA

Sentences:

NASA is studying new types of propulsion to travel farther and faster into space.
We built a toy rocket that used baking soda and vinegar to make its propulsion.

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