White House instructs NASA to create a time standard for the Moon
Kyiv • UNN
The White House has instructed NASA to establish a single time standard called Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT) for the Moon and other celestial bodies by 2026 to provide an accurate time reference for lunar missions amid growing activity in lunar exploration.
The White House on Tuesday directed NASA to set a single time standard for the moon and other celestial bodies as the United States seeks to establish international norms in space amid a growing lunar race between states and individuals, Reuters reports UNN.
Details
The head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), according to a memo seen by Reuters, has directed the space agency to work with other parts of the US government to develop a plan by the end of 2026 to establish what is known as coordinated lunar time (LTC).
Different gravitational forces and potentially other factors on the Moon and other celestial bodies change how time unfolds relative to how it is perceived on Earth. Among other things, the LTC will provide a timekeeping reference for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extreme accuracy for their missions.
The same clock we have on Earth will move at a different speed on the Moon
A memo from OSTP head Arati Prabhakar says that for a person on the Moon, the Earth's clock will lose an average of 58.7 microseconds per Earth day and will have other periodic variations that will further deviate lunar time from Earth time.
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