It’s going to start getting crowded on the moon, and we’ll soon need a precise lunar timekeeping system, a shared clock, to coordinate missions and prevent disasters.
Time moves a bit faster on the moon than on Earth because the moon’s mass is smaller than that of Earth and its gravity is weaker. That means the moon is going to get its own time zone.
NASA has been asked to establish a unified standard time for the moon and other celestial bodies by the end of 2026. That request came from the White House – specifically the Office of Science and Technology Policy – on April 2.
“The same clock that we have on Earth would move at a different rate on the moon,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s space communications and navigation chief, in an interview with Reuters.
The difference is slight: 58.7 microseconds per Earth day. (A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.) Microseconds are often used as measurements in electronics, computing and telecommunication applications.
On Earth, Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, is the standard used to set all time zones around the world. Eastern Time is four hours behind UTC.
The new lunar time zone will be known as Coordinated Lunar Time, or LTC. It’s not yet determined whether the moon will have one or multiple time zones.
Why do we need precise time on the moon?
That 58.7 microseconds may not sound like much to worry about. An eye blink, for example, takes 0.1 to 0.4 seconds, or 100,000 to 400,000 microseconds.
But the time discrepancy becomes crucial in space missions, which require perfect precision for communication, tracking and navigation.
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LTC is also needed for secure data transfers between spacecraft and for matched communication among Earth, lunar satellites, bases and astronauts, Reuters reported.
And because future missions will be multinational, all participants will need to be synchronized.
Nations have been using their own standard time in space missions. NASA, for example, used Mission Elapsed Time, or the amount of time from the moment of liftoff, to coordinate space missions.
Where will Coordinated Lunar Time be used?
LTC will be used in operations in cislunar space, the region around the Earth that extends to the moon and past its orbit. It includes:
- The lunar surface.
- Lunar orbits.
- Earth-moon Lagrange points.
Lagrange points are gravity balanced positions in space between two bodies – the Earth and moon, in this example – in which objects such as spacecraft can stay in position. Lagrange points are easy to reach, and many spacecraft use them to perform observations, Space.com says.
Will the moon’s time system be similar to that of Earth?
It could be. Earth’s UTC uses a group of 450 highly precise atomic clocks in 85 time laboratories around the world. The Office of Science and Technology Policy directive suggests “an ensemble of clocks” on the moon could be used to set up the moon’s LTC.
The White House directive also says LTC must have:
- Traceability or a calculated connection to Earth’s Coordinated Universal Time.
- Specificity and accuracy to measure very short spans of time, necessary for precise scientific study and spacecraft landings.
- Self-sufficiencyin case connection with Earth is lost.
- Scalabilityso other celestial objects or space environments could use it.
NASA will work with the departments of Commerce, Defense, State and Transportation to create and implement the lunar time zone.
NASA also will need to consult the 36 nations that have signed the Artemis Accords, an agreement that spells out countries’ activities in space and on the moon.
China and Russia, the two main US rivals in space, have not signed the agreement.
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; NASA; Office of Science and Technology Policy; European Space Agency; space.com; itu.int; Florida Today; Center for Strategic and International Studies
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