interplanetary space
1
7.5
- noun
- /ˌɪntərˈplænɪtɛri speɪs/
- Specialized
:
espacio interplanetario
- The spacecraft traveled vast distances through interplanetary space to reach the distant planets.
Examples
-
Monnig was fascinated with meteorites for the same reason that they are important to science, namely that they are samples of material from the depths of interplanetary space, yet one can look at, touch, and analyze them in laboratories.
Academic text (1990) -
"This first step back into interplanetary space... it's the lowest risk because you're talking about mission durations of one to two months and only a few days to get back to Earth," Burns told SPACE.com.
Blog text (18) -
This spacecraft was Japan's first mission into interplanetary space and was largely an engineering test.
Academic text (1992) -
The corona is continually expanding into interplanetary space, and in this form is called the solar wind.
Academic text (1991) -
The outermost parts of the solar atmosphere even extend through interplanetary space beyond the orbit of the Earth.
Academic text (1991) -
The technology needed to take us and our mechanical surrogates across interplanetary space will also take us to new heights of achievement.
Academic text (2004) -
The charged particles or the solar wind carry with them a magnetic field that fills interplanetary space—Ed.
Academic text (1992) -
Otherwise, the H2O would slowly leak up into or above the ozone layer, to be broken down by UV radiation, and then free H-atoms would escape into interplanetary space.
Academic text (1994) -
The Martian meteorite then traveled through interplanetary space for a hundred million years, crashed into Antarctica, stayed buried in ice for an additional 13,000 years, and was finally recovered in 1984.
Academic text (2002) -
Scientists study the effects of radiation in interplanetary space to better understand how to protect astronauts.
How Far
- Specialized
1
7.5
- Specialized
4
6.0
- Specialized
1
7.5
91
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'interplanetary' (between planets) + 'space' (the cosmos) yields the region of outer space between planets. This follows a standard, cross-linguistically common noun-compounding pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Interplanetary space comes from the words interplanetary ('between planets') and space ('empty area'). Imagine a wide, empty sea that a spaceship must cross to go from one planet to another, and that's why the phrase means the area between the planets in our solar system.