| ACT | Advanced Component Technology |
| AirMSPI-2 | Airborne Multi-angle Spectro Polarimetric Imager-2 |
| AO | announcement of opportunity |
| Athena-OAWL | Atmospheric Transport, Hurricanes and Extratropical Numerical Weather Prediction-Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar |
| CDR | contract data requirement |
| CERES | Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System |
| CO | carbon monoxide |
| COVID | coronavirus |
| CYGNSS | Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System |
| ECOSTRESS | Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station |
| EMIT | Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation |
| EOS | Earth Observing System |
| ESAS | Earth Science and Applications from Space |
| ESD | Earth Science Division |
| ESSP | Earth System Science Pathfinder |
| ESSPPO | ESSP Program Office |
| ESTO | Earth Science Technology Office |
| EV | Earth Venture |
| EV-C | Earth Venture Continuity |
| EV-I | Earth Venture Instrument |
| EV-M | Earth Venture Mission |
| EV-S | Earth Venture Suborbital |
| FY | fiscal year |
| GA-EMS | General Atomic Electromagnetic Systems |
| GEDI | Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation |
| GEMS | geostationary scanning ultraviolet-visible spectrometer |
| GEO | geosynchronous Earth orbit |
| GEO-CAPE | Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events |
| GeoCarb | Geostationary Carbon Observatory |
| GLIMR | Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer |
| GNSS | Global Navigation Satellite System |
| GPS | Global Positioning System |
| GSFC | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| HQ | Headquarters |
| IIP | Instrument Incubator Program |
| INCUS | Investigation of Convective Updrafts |
| IR | infrared |
| ISS | International Space Station |
| JEM-EF | Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility |
| JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| KDP | key decision point |
| LaRC | Langley Research Center |
| LEO | low Earth orbit |
| LSP | Launch Services Program |
| MAIA | Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols |
| MIDEX | Medium-class Explorer |
| MIT LL | MIT Lincoln Laboratory |
| MoO | Mission of Opportunity |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| NPR | NASA Procedural Requirement |
| OCO-2 | Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 |
| PI | principal investigator |
| PM | project manager |
| PREFIRE | Polar Radiant Energy in the Far InfraRed Experiment |
| RFP | request for proposal |
| ROSES | Research Opportunities in the Space and Earth Sciences |
| SMD | Science Mission Directorate |
| SMA | safety and mission assurance |
| SMEX | Small Explorer (a class of missions) |
| STEM | science, technology, engineering, and mathematics |
| TEMPEST | Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical System |
| TEMPO | Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution |
| TIR | thermal infrared |
| TMC | technical, management, and cost |
| TRL | technology readiness level |
| TROPICS | Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats |
| YAG | yttrium-aluminum garnet |