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."
The term Lithobraking has been popularised by the video game Kerbal Space Program as an euphemism for spacecraft crashes.
- ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan (2020). "Lithobraking", Astronautical Glossary. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
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npr20150430was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "litho". Dictionary.com.