Lithobraking

Lithobraking is a whimsical "crash landing" euphemism used by spacecraft engineers to refer to a spacecraft impacting the surface of a planet or moon.[1][2][3] The word was coined by analogy with "aerobraking", slowing a spacecraft by intersecting the atmosphere, with "lithos" (Ancient Greek: λίθος [líthos], "rock")[4] substituted to indicate the spacecraft is intersecting the planet's solid lithosphere rather than merely its gaseous atmosphere.

According to Jonathan McDowell,[1] "Lithobraking reduces the apoapsis height to zero instantly, but with the unfortunate side effect that the spacecraft does not survive. Originally a whimsical euphemism, but increasingly a standard term."

  1. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan (2020). "Lithobraking", Astronautical Glossary. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference etech20250430 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference npr20150430 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "litho". Dictionary.com.