ACRONYM MEANING

ACE = Advanced Composition Explorer
ALMA = Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       AMIE = Advanced Moon Micro-Imager Experiment 
APEX = Atcama Pathfinder Experiment Telescope
ATIC = Advanced Thin Ionization Colorimeter-sense presence of Cosmic Rays
BAT = Burst Alert Telescope
BATSE = Burst and Transient Experiment
CCD = Charge Coupled Device
CDM = Cold Dark Matter
CfA = Center for Astrophysics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      CGRO = Compton Gamma Ray Observatory 
CHZ = Circum-stellar Habitable Zone
CMB = Cosmic Microwave Background
CME = Coronal Mass Ejection
CMS = Center for Meteorite Studies
CODEX = Cosmic Dynamic Experiment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   COMPTEL = Imaging Compton Telescope
COROT = Convection Rotation and Planetary Transits
COS = Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
COSMOS = Cosmos Evolution Survey
COSTAR = Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement
COTS = Commercial off the Shelf
CRICRES = Cryogenic Infrared Echelle Spectrograph
DIB = Diffuse Interstellar Bands                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              DRMs = Design Reference Missions 
EGRET = Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ERA = Earth Return Vehicle
ESA = European Space Agency
ESO = European Southern Observatory                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    EVA = Extravehicular Activities 
EXIST = Energetis X-Ray Imaging Survey Telescope
FGST = Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope
GALEX = Galaxy Evolutional Explorer
GBM = Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor
GBT = Green Bank Telescope
GHZ = Galactic Habitable Zone
GLIMPSE = Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire
GMC = Giant Molecular Cloud
GOCET = Gravity Field and Steady State Ocean Circulation
GOODS = Great Observatories Origins Deep Surveys
GRB = Gamma-Ray Burst                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      GTO = GeostationaryTransfer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                HARPS = High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher
IAU = International Astronomical Union
IBEX = Interstellar Boundary Explorer
IDA = International Dark Sky Association
IPS = Interplanetary Super Highway
IRAS = Infrared Astronomical Satellite
ISM = Interstellar Medium                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ISRU = In -Sku Resource Utilization 
ISS = International Space Station
ISSE = International Sun Earth Explorer-3
JPL = Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JWST = James Webb SpaceTelescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    KATE =  XKa - Band Telemetry & Telecommand  Experiment                                                                                                                                                          
KBO = Kuiper Belt Objects
KK = Theoretical Kaluza-Klien Particle
LAT = Large Area Telescope
LBG = Lyman-Break Galaxy
LBT = Large Binocular Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          LCOGT = Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope
LCROSS = Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite
LDEF = Long Duration Exposure Facility
LER = Lunar Electronic Rover
LIGO = Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory
LISA = Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
LMC = Large Magellanic Cloud
LOFAR = Low Frequency Array
LRNO = Luminous Red Object
LRO = Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LSST = Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
MAVEN = Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission
MCAO = Multi Conjugate Adaptive Optics
MECA = Microscopy Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer
MESSENGER = Mercury Surface Space Environment Geochemistry and Ranging
MHD = Magneto Hydro Dynamics
MIPSGAL = Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer Inner Galactic Plane Survey
MOND = Modified Newtonian Dynamics
MRO = Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
MSL = Mars Science Laboratory
MWA = Murchison Wide-Field Array
NDSW = National Dark Sky Week
NEA = Near Earth Asteroid
NEAR = Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (Shoemaker Spacecraft)
NEOSSAT = Near Earth Object Surveillance Satellite
NGC = New General Catalog                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         NICMOS = Near Infrared Camera And Multi Object Spectrometer 
NRAQ = National Radio Astronomy Observatory
NTT = New Technology Telescope
ODP = Orbital Debris Program                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              OSSE = Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment 
OSTM = Ocean Surface Topography Mission
PAH = Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PAIRTEL = Robot 1.3 Meter Infrared Telescope
Pan-STARRS = Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System
RAVE = Radical Velocity Experiment                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        RSIS = Rakio Science Investigation w/Smart 
SDSS = Sloan Digital Sky Survey
SEGUE = Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Evolution
SETI = Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence
SGR = Soft Gamma Repeaters                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      SIR = Smart-1 Infrared Spectometer                                                                                                                                                                                                      
SKA = Square Kilometer Array
SLACS = Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    SMART = Small Missions For Advanced Research & Technology 
SN = Super Nova
SOHO = Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
SP = Space Launch Complex                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  SPEDE = Spacecraft Potential Electron & Dust Experiment 
SSN = U.S. Space Surveillance Network
SST = Spitzer Space Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         STEREO = Solar Terestrial Relations Observatory 
STIS = Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
SZE = Sunyeav-Zeldovich Effect
TEGA = Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer
THEMIS = Time History of Events and Macro Scale Interactions During Substorms
TMT = Thirty Meter Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   UKIRT = 3.8 Meter United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
VLA = Very Large Array                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           VLBA = Very Long Baseline Array 
VLT = Very Large Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      VLTI = Very Large Telescope Interferometer
WFC = Wide Field Camera
WFC-3 = Wide Field Camera #3
WMAP = Wilkenson Microwave Anistropy Probe
XRT = X-Ray Telescope                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                XSM = X-Ray Solar Monitor 
YORP = Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievsku-Paddock effect
YSO = Young Stellar Object

THIS LIST WILL BE UPDATED AS MORE ACRONYMS ARE INTRODUCED.