The clock ticks faster on the moon. Based on that determination, the White House has asked NASA, their space program, to establish a new reference time on the moon. The aim is to present a strategy for the introduction of lunar time by the end of 2026.
“As NASA, private companies and space agencies around the world launch missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, it is important that we establish a standard time. This is necessary for the safety and accuracy of space travel,” said Steve Welby, director of the White House Science Office.
To the moon…
Due to the difference in gravity, time passes differently on the moon. To an observer on the moon, a clock on Earth appears to run slower by an average of 58.7 millionths of a second on an average day on Earth.
Yet that minuscule difference is essential for precise determinations such as location or communication. According to the White House, the intention is to link lunar time, the ‘Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT)’, to the ‘Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)’, which we use on Earth.
…and further
The US will send astronauts to the moon in the coming years under the Artemis program. That’s the first time since they did it with Apollo 17 in 1972. Many countries and space companies are involved.
There is also close cooperation in the US. “NASA has been instructed to collaborate with various U.S. government departments and international partners in the development of lunar time,” the science agency said.
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