Washington— The POT want to find a way Measure time out of this world and set a specific clock for the Moon.
It is not a time zone (division of the Earth's surface into 24 strips so that each of them corresponds to a time of day) like those on Earth, but of an entire new time frame of reference for the Moon.
With less gravity, time passes a little faster — 58.7 microseconds per day — compared to our planet. So the White House directed Tuesday that NASA and other federal agencies collaborate with international agencies to devise a new time reference system for the Moon.
“An atomic clock on the Moon will run at a different rate than a clock on Earth”said Kevin Coggins, director of communications and navigation at NASA. “It makes sense that when you travel to another celestial body, like the Moon or Mars, each of them beats at its own pace.”
So everything on the Moon will operate at accelerated lunar time, Coggins noted.
The last time NASA sent astronauts to the Moon they used watches, but time wasn't as precise and crucial as it is now with GPS systems., satellites and intricate computing and communications systems, he indicated. Those microseconds matter when high-tech systems interact, she added.
Last year, the European Space Agency pointed out that the Earth needs to unify the times for the Moonwhere one day lasts the same as 29.5 Earth days.
The International Space Station, which is located in low Earth orbit, will continue to use universal coordinated time (UTC). But establishing the place where the new schedule will begin to be used is something that NASA must resolve. Even on Earth, time speeds up or slows down, so seconds need to be subtracted.
Unlike Earth, the Moon will not have daylight saving time, Coggins said.
The White House wants the NASA presents a preliminary idea by the end of the year and have a final plan by the end of 2026.
NASA has set the goal of sending astronauts to the Moon in September 2025, and put people on the lunar surface a year later.