The White House has ordered NASA to establish a unified time standard for the Moon and other celestial bodies. With this, the United States aims to establish international standards in space amid a growing lunar race between nations and private companies.
Since there is less gravity on the Moon, time passes a little faster (58.7 microseconds per day) than on Earth. That is why this Tuesday the White House instructed NASA and other US agencies to collaborate with international organizations in the creation of a new lunar-centered time reference system.
“An atomic clock on the Moon will mark a different rhythm than a clock on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, head of communications and navigation at NASA. “It makes sense that when you go to another celestial body, like the Moon or Mars, each one has its own heartbeat.” In this way, everything on the Moon will work with accelerated lunar time, Coggins said.
The last time NASA sent astronauts to the Moon, they wore watches, but the synchronization was not as precise and critical as it is now with GPS, satellites, and intricate computer and communication systems, he explained. Those microseconds matter when high-tech systems interact. Last year, the European Space Agency said that Earth needs to reach a unified time for the Moon, where a day lasts 29.5 Earth days.
The International Space Station, being in low Earth orbit, will continue to use Coordinated Universal Time or UTC. However, NASA has to determine at which point the new space time will be applied. Even Earth’s time speeds up and slows down, requiring leap seconds.
Unlike Earth, there will be no daylight saving time on the Moon, explained Coggins. The White House wants NASA to present a preliminary idea by the end of the year and have a definitive plan by the end of 2026.
