NASA wants to figure out the time on the Moon.
With help from global partners, they’re working on a plan to create a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC). This would make sure everyone has the same time on the Moon. Imagine if people lived there someday; they’d need to know the exact time for things like new video game releases.
NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation program is leading this project with other US government members and international groups. But how will they decide what time it is?
According to NASA, they’ll use a “weighted average of atomic clocks on the Moon.” This is like how Earth’s Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) works, but there are some extra challenges for the Moon.
“Exactly where at the Moon is still to be determined, since current analysis indicates that atomic clocks placed at the Moon’s surface will appear to ‘tick’ faster by microseconds per day,” NASA said. “A microsecond is one millionth of a second. NASA and its partners are currently researching which mathematical models will be best for establishing a lunar time.”
NASA says this is very important because they want to send people back to the Moon with the Artemis program and keep them there for a long time.
“The approach to time systems will also be scalable for Mars and other celestial bodies throughout our solar system, enabling long-duration exploration,” NASA said.
The commercial space industry is growing fast, so having the right time is key for safe and successful trips, NASA added.
Last week, SpaceX sent astronauts higher into space than in the past 50 years and did the first commercial spacewalk. Jared Isaacman paid for the trip and did the spacewalk with astronaut Sarah Gillis. They both landed safely off Florida on Sunday. Meanwhile, astronauts who went to the International Space Station in June are still stuck there due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule.
