Terminology Reference
A comprehensive glossary for operators working with modular extraterrestrial infrastructure
Core Concepts & Methodology
Build Forward — A phased construction methodology prioritizing incremental deployment and pre-staged resources. Favors functional infrastructure over idealized blueprints to enable scalable, testable growth.
2-Hour Modules — System scoping principle where each build is designed to be fully constructed and operational within roughly two real-world hours, including mining and fabrication.
STA-3X — Stationeering Technical Assistant, Model 3X. Mission-adapted synthetic collaborator responsible for engineering synthesis, atmospheric logic design, and incident documentation.
Operator — Human personnel designation (e.g., EMP-013). Identity re-issued as needed for incident continuity.
Cycle — Standard time reference for planetary operations (e.g., "Cycle 5, Diurnal Phase"). Time units vary by environment.
System Domains & Architecture
Atmospheric Recovery Unit (ARU)
(Atmospheric Recovery on the Moon)
ARU — Atmospheric Recovery Unit. The complete gas reclamation, filtration, and storage system.
Three C's — Core principles of gas conservation:
Capture — Waste gas collection
Conditioning — Thermal and chemical processing
Containment — Organized storage
ECL — Exhaust Capture Line. Pipeline collecting waste gases from furnaces, ice crushers, and vents.
TEC — Thermal Exchange Core. Central processing unit for gas filtering and thermal conditioning.
PGL — Processed Gas Line. Storage and distribution system organizing gases into discrete tanks by type.
ARU Controllers:
TEC Intake Controller — Manages gas heating/cooling and intake from ECL
PGL Filtration Controller — Operates gas separation for O2, N2, CO2 storage
TEC-C Cooling Controller — Evacuates trapped gases from radiative cooling segments
ARU Equipment:
TEC-V — Volatiles Rejection Unit. Filters volatile gases before TEC processing
TEC-C — Cooling Ejector Unit. Evacuates residual gases from TEC cooling loop
Life Support & Base Expansion
Atmospheric Correction — The process adjusting gas composition and pressure to meet target thresholds: Life Support Systems Engineering
Bypass Door — Door enabling joining or separating two sectors with compatible atmospheres: Life Support II: Base Expansion
Distribution Plumbing — Main gas line connections providing ongoing atmospheric supply (O2, N2, CO2) to operational compartments. Distinct from temporary interconnect plumbing used during expansion.
Dynamic Displacement — Variable gas correction approach based on composition deviation: Life Support Systems Engineering
Sector — Area managed by a single environmental control system, which may encompass multiple rooms or spaces with shared atmospheric requirements: Life Support Systems Engineering
Flow Rate Limit — Maximum achievable flow rate derived from the number grid units per active vent type, determining optimal vent scaling for atmospheric control efficiency: Life Support Systems Engineering
Flow Rate Minimum — Minimum target pressurization rate for base atmospheric management: Life Support Systems Engineering
Gas Line Clearance Area — 6-meter spatial zone measured from existing transition spaces, housing main gas distribution infrastructure. New vestibules must align within this zone for proper atmospheric integration: Life Support II: Base Expansion
Grid Unit (GU) — 8 m³ building block measuring 2m × 2m × 2m, used as the standard unit for atmospheric volume calculations: Life Support Systems Engineering
Inward Systems — Gas management infrastructure that prioritizes burst risk mitigation and infrastructure safety, handling waste gas evacuation and atmospheric removal: Life Support Systems Engineering
Interconnect Plumbing — Temporary pipe network connecting pressurized and unpressurized spaces during expansion. Uses passive-to-passive vent configuration with digital valve for controlled gas flow. Reusable across multiple expansions: Life Support II: Base Expansion
Line Pressure — Operating pressure in gas distribution lines, affecting pump energy consumption and burst risk: Life Support Systems Engineering
Local Gas Line — Secondary distribution tier providing buffered storage for guaranteed gas supply and burst protection for individual zones: Life Support Systems Engineering
Main Gas Line — Primary distribution tier that propagates gas throughout the entire atmospheric network: Life Support Systems Engineering
Outward Systems — Gas management infrastructure focused on atmospheric pressurization, maintaining target local storage, and minimizing reliance on main gas lines during emergency scenarios: Life Support Systems Engineering
Operational Volume — Sector capacity used for ventilation efficiency calculations in the mix-press controller. Includes compartments and open vestibules; excludes airlocks, manual airlocks, and bypass doors: Life Support II: Base Expansion
Peak Atmospheric Events — High-power demand scenarios including airlock cycling, contamination response, atmospheric corrections, and rapid pressurization that require increased energy consumption above baseline operations: Life Support Systems Engineering
Pipe Safety Threshold — Pressure level that triggers waste pump activation: Life Support Systems Engineering
Sequential Vent Operation — One-at-a-time vent activation strategy used to limit peak energy usage: Life Support Systems Engineering
Vestibule — 1 GU transition space connecting compartments, enabling safe pressurization and future operational flexibility. Can be configured as open passage, bypass door, or full airlock without structural modifications: Life Support II: Base Expansion
Life Support Systems Controllers:
Mixture-Pressure Controller (mix-press) — Control system managing zone atmospheric conditions by coordinating vent operations to maintain target pressure and gas composition.
Interconnect Controller — Control system monitoring source pressure during compartment expansion. Automatically closes interconnect valve if base pressure drops below safety threshold, preventing base decompression.
Power
Baseline Power — Continuous power consumption for devices: Power Capacity Planning
Budget Ratio — Calculated power budget divided by requested usage. Values greater than 1 indicate adequate generation capacity; values at or below 1 indicate energy shortfall requiring load shedding: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Distribution Line — Cables connecting subnetwork connection points to equipment groups: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Dual-Region Interconnection — Equipment (typically doors and airlocks) that connects to both regions simultaneously, drawing power from whichever region is operational: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Hub-Based Architecture — Centralized distribution model: Solar Power Infrastructure
Independent Systems — Systems that exist within regions without cross-regional coordination or failover. Accepts complete downtime if their region fails: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Load Shedding — Controlled disconnection of lower-priority subnetworks when available power budget becomes insufficient to support all requested loads: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Multi-Zone Access — Infrastructure design where all zone transmission lines route to every subnetwork location, enabling zone reassignment by moving transformer connections without cable rework: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
N+1 Redundancy — Load distribution across N+1 regions where N regions provide 100% of required capacity during normal operation. Can tolerate a single-region failure without service interruption: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Overflow Region — Dedicated capacity for opportunistic batch loads that run only when surplus power exists beyond base facility requirements. Receives zero allocation during constrained periods: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Passive Battery Backup — Manual-activation battery system that provides additional power protection. Charges from regional power but requires manual activation, preserving battery during compound failures: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Regional Bus (Region) — The largest power distribution subdivision, representing total distribution capacity from the battery array: Solar Power Infrastructure, Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Requested Potential — The cumulative maximum power that equipment could draw under peak operation. Used for capacity planning and allocation decisions: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Root Network — Primary power generation and distribution backbone: Solar Power Infrastructure
Subnetwork — The smallest power distribution unit, representing equipment groups powered through a single zone connection point: Solar Power Infrastructure, Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Temporal Power Management — Energy strategy using regulation and storage to handle brief peak demands rather than sizing power generation for worst-case instantaneous loads: Power Capacity Planning
Transmission Line — Heavy or super heavy cables delivering power from the battery array to regional and zonal distribution points. Provides the infrastructure sized for regional capacity: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Uncharacterized Loads — Infrastructure power consumption that doesn’t route through zone-managed subnetworks: transformer base power, controller operation, battery charging for backup systems, and generation management equipment: Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Zone — A capacity-limited subdivision within a region, supported by transformers (typically 5-50 kW). Zones provide load guarantees and allocation granularity: Solar Power Infrastructure, Microgrid Architecture for Resilient Power Systems
Network Classifications:
BKP — Battery backup system for emergency operation and charging isolation. Uses transformers to prevent high-power charging cycles from disrupting precision equipment: Atmospheric Recovery on the Moon
FS — Failsafe system that automatically shuts down equipment during fault conditions to prevent resource loss or equipment damage: Atmospheric Recovery on the Moon
LL — Load leveling system that uses a transformer and APC in series to smooth out temporal power mismatches between baseline and peak power demand: Life Support Systems Engineering
Thermal Systems
(Radiative Cooling Strategies for Habitat Sustainability)
CLA (Cold Loop Active) — “claw” Powered cooling system using digital valves and pump equipment for thermal capacity modulation. CLAs support two operating modes (TPM and TTM) selectable via manual control input.
CLP (Cold Loop Passive) — “clap” Unpowered cooling system using mechanical valves. Cooling capacity is proportional to gas quantity, with no active temperature control capability.
Capacity Utilization — Fraction of maximum cooling capacity currently in use. In thermal tracking mode, indicated by pump speed: lower speeds correspond to higher capacity utilization (more cooling demand). Operators monitor capacity utilization to determine when additional cooling units are required.
Convection Segment — Interior pipe network where gas absorbs thermal energy from adjacent atmosphere.
DTS (Dedicated Thermal System) — Cooling system deployed as child network of specific equipment. The DTS transformer connects downstream of the equipment’s system transformer, creating explicit dependency. When parent equipment loses power and stops generating heat, the DTS automatically shuts down.
Radiation Segment — Exterior vacuum-exposed pipe network where gas rejects thermal energy to space through passive radiation.
STS (Sector Thermal System) — Cooling system deployed as independent sector infrastructure for ambient thermal management. Multiple cooling units controlled by centralized sensor aggregation with shared control logic. Handles distributed loads from lighting, doors, and small equipment not warranting dedicated cooling.
Thermal Pulse Mode — Operating mode for CLA systems. Cycles between active cooling and standby states based on temperature thresholds. Valve opens and pump activates when temperature exceeds upper threshold, returns to standby when temperature drops below lower threshold.
Thermal Tracking Mode — Operating mode for CLA systems. Uses continuous pump speed modulation to match cooling capacity to current thermal load. Pump speed inversely correlates with cooling demand; lower speeds provide higher cooling output.
Measurements & Thresholds
MPa·L — Megapascal-liter. Unit representing pressure × volume product, used as filtration activation threshold.
Condensation Ratio — Heuristic derived from Ideal Gas Law for predicting contaminant phase changes during gas conditioning. Calculated as
(Atmospheric Recovery on the Moon, Appendix A9)
Safety & Procedures
Fail-safe — Control system detecting faults (pipe bursts) and safely shutting down affected components.
EVA — Extravehicular Activity. Operations conducted outside pressurized areas.
Alert and Monitoring Systems
(Vigil Network: Information Architecture and Communication Standards)
Alert Code — 2-digit (SC) or 6-digit (SC-LLLL) numeric code representing severity, category, and location
Category — Type of system being monitored (Environment, Power, Atmospherics, Agriculture), encoded 1-7, maps 1:1 with cable channels
Channel — Cable bus address (0-7) for controller communication within a location
Environment Code — PPE requirement (-1 to 3) for safe entry location: WORLD, SAFE, ADVISE, HAZARD, XTREME
Gateway — Controller that aggregates Probe alerts for a location and coordinates with Sentinel
Haven — Controller that monitors environment conditions (temperature, pressure, contaminants) and calculates PPE requirements
HealthcheckOffline — Special alert (360000) indicating power failure affecting monitoring coverage
Location — A monitoring boundary defined by network isolation. Locations may be interior spaces (habitat modules, processing rooms) or exterior installations (solar arrays, mining sites). Location identifiers use 4-digit format SSRR (Sector + Room), e.g., Location 0102 = Sector 01, Room 02.
Probe — Controller monitoring specific conditions, reports to one category only (1-7 probes per location)
SC Format — 2-digit alert code (Severity × 10 + Category)
SC-LLLL Format — 6-digit alert code (SC × 10000 + Location), created by Gateway
Sentinel — Sector-level controller that coordinates Gateway outputs and performs health checks
Severity — Urgency level (0-3): All Clear, Maintenance, Warning, Critical
Vigil Network — Complete notification system (Probes, Gateway, Sentinel, Beacon/Displays)
Incident Classification
Incident Log — Formal postmortem documentation following structured failure analysis.
Root Cause Analysis — Systematic investigation tracing failure through causal chain to fundamental cause.
Corrective Actions — Assigned remediation tasks with responsibility and status tracking.
Behavioral Drift — Pattern recognition for unreported or concealed operational irregularities.