On Tuesday, the White House released a policy memorandum directing NASA to create a new time standard for the Moon by 2026. Lunar Time Coordinated (LTC) will establish an official time reference to help guide future lunar missions. It comes as a 21st-century space race emerges between (at least) the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia.
The memo directs NASA to work with the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State and Transportation to plan a strategy to implement LTC by December 31, 2026. International cooperation will also play a role, especially with signatories to the Artemis Accords. Established in 2020, they are a set of common principles among a growing list of (currently) 37 countries governing space exploration and operating principles. China and Russia are not part of that group.
“As NASA, private companies and space agencies around the world launch missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, it is important that we establish celestial weather standards for safety and accuracy,” said Deputy Director of Homeland Security OSTP, Steve Welby. technology-policy-releases-celestial-time-standardization-policy/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:wrote;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:4;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>wrote in a White House press release. “A consistent definition of time among operators in space is critical to the success of space situational awareness, navigation, and communications capabilities, all of which are critical to enabling interoperability across the U.S. government.” “U.S. and with international partners.”
Einstein's theories of relativity dictate that time changes in relation to speed and gravity. Given the Moon's weaker gravity (and the differences in motion between it and Earth), time moves a little faster there. Thus, an Earth clock located on the lunar surface would appear to gain an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth day. As the United States and other countries plan missions to the Moon to research, explore, and (eventually) build bases for permanent residence, using a single standard will help them synchronize technology and missions that require precise timing.
“The same clock we have on Earth would move at a different rate on the Moon,” said NASA head of space navigation and communications Kevin Coggins. said Reuters. “Think of the atomic clocks at the US Naval Observatory (in Washington). They are the heartbeat of the nation and synchronize everything. “You're going to want a heartbeat.”
The White House wants LTC to be coordinated with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the standard by which all time zones on Earth are measured. His memo says he wants the new time zone to allow for precise navigation and scientific efforts. He also wants LTC to remain resilient if it loses contact with Earth, while also providing scalability for space environments “beyond the Earth-Moon system.”
NASA's Artemis program aims to send crewed missions back to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. The space agency said in January that Artemis 2, which will fly around the Moon with four people on board, is now scheduled for launch in September 2025. Artemis 3, which plans to return humans to the surface of the Moon, is now scheduled for 2026.
In addition to the United States, China aspires to take astronauts to the Moon technology/space/china-aims-put-first-chinese-moon-before-2030-2024-02-29/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:before 2030;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:7;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>before 2030 as the world's two largest global superpowers begin their race to space. Although no other country has announced manned missions to the lunar surface, India (which placed a module and rover at the Moon's south pole last year), Russia (its mission around the same time did not go as well), the The United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea and private companies have demonstrated lunar ambitions in recent years.
In addition to enabling further scientific exploration, technological establishment, and resource extraction, the Moon could serve as a critical stop on the path to Mars. It could test technologies and meet fuel and supply needs for eventual human missions to the Red Planet.
