1. Mae Jemison: Space Scientist Key Vocabulary Houghton Mifflin Reading Theme 2 – Give It All You’ve Got © Brent Coley 2008 | www.mrcoley.com

2. See if you can correctly define the following vocabulary words.

3. If necessary, use the context clues from the sample sentences to help you.

4. astronaut

5. astronaut Sample Sentence: Neil Armstrong was the first astronaut to walk on the moon.

6. astronaut Definition: n. A person trained to participate in the flight of a spacecraft

7. launch

8. launch Sample Sentence: The space shuttle is scheduled to launch tomorrow morning.

9. launch Definition: v. To put into action by force

10. mission

11. mission Sample Sentence: The astronauts’ mission was to repair the damaged space station.

12. mission Definition: n. An operation that attempts to achieve certain goals

13. orbit

14. orbit Sample Sentence: The space shuttle spent two weeks in orbit while astronauts gathered data.

15. orbit Definition: n. The path of a spacecraft around the earth

16. reusable

17. reusable Sample Sentence: Reusable water bottles are becoming more and more popular.

18. reusable Definition: adj. Able to be used again

19. satellite

20. satellite Sample Sentence: The weather satellite sent current pictures of the hurricane back to earth.

21. satellite Definition: n. A human-made device that orbits the earth

22. space shuttle

23. Sample Sentence: The space shuttle returned to earth after its one-week mission.

24. space shuttle Definition: n. A spacecraft that is launched like a rocket and can be landed like a plane.

25. specialist

26. specialist Sample Sentence: Roger was a communications specialist in the army.

27. specialist Definition: n. Someone who is an expert in a particular field

28. weightlessness

29. weightlessness Sample Sentence: Astronauts experience weightlessness in space due to the absence of gravity.

30. weightlessness Definition: n. The condition of being without weight