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RDF Terms

Coordinate System Type

Coordinate system type

A coordinate system is a mathematical structure for assigning a unique n-tuple of numbers or scalars to each point in an n-dimensional space. A Coordinate System Type is a data type that defines the properties of data structures that represent coordinate systems.

The primary attributes of any coordinate system are the coordinate frame or orientation of the axes of the coordinate system and the coordinate center or origin of the coordinate system. The coordinate center is the easier of the two attributes to define and in trajectory-related coordinate systems is often taken to be the center of mass of natural solar system bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, or Mars. Precise definition of the coordinate frame, however, usually takes much more effort. As a result, the primary purpose of this section is to provide a detailed description of a number of different coordinate frames commonly used in lunar and Mars mission analysis.

The primary attributes of any coordinate system are the coordinate frame or orientation of the axes of the coordinate system and the coordinate center or origin of the coordinate system. The coordinate center is the easier of the two attributes to define and in trajectory-related coordinate systems is often taken to be the center of mass of natural solar system bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, or Mars. Precise definition of the coordinate frame, however, usually takes much more effort. As a result, the primary purpose of this section is to provide a detailed description of a number of different coordinate frames commonly used in lunar and Mars mission analysis. All of the coordinate frames described in this section are standard, right-handed coordinate frames with orthogonal axes at the origin. In general, the coordinate frame and the coordinate center are independent quantities. In other words, multiple coordinate systems can be defined using the same coordinate center (with different frames) or the same coordinate frame (with different centers).