Produced by: Tarun Mishra
NASA is working on developing a Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) to support lunar exploration. This effort follows a policy directive from the White House issued in April and involves collaboration with U.S. government stakeholders, international partners, and standards organizations.
NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program is spearheading the initiative to create a unified time system for the moon, which could later be expanded for use on other celestial bodies in the solar system.
Lunar time will be calculated through a weighted average of atomic clocks located on the moon, similar to how Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is established on Earth. The precise location for these clocks on the moon is still under review.
Initial research shows that atomic clocks placed on the moon's surface would appear to 'tick' faster by microseconds per day compared to those on Earth. NASA is studying the best mathematical models to account for these differences and ensure accuracy.
NASA highlights that even a 56-microsecond difference, while seemingly small, can have significant effects over space distances. For example, a difference of that magnitude is equivalent to about 168 football fields for objects traveling at the speed of light.
The lunar time standard is being developed as part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a long-term presence on the moon. This time system will help ensure the safety of astronauts by preventing critical timing errors during missions.
As commercial space activity increases and more countries become active on the moon, a standardized lunar time system will be vital. NASA plans for this lunar time approach to be scalable, enabling future exploration efforts on Mars and other celestial bodies.