America wants to introduce lunar time

The US government has instructed the space agency NASA to develop a uniform time for the Moon and other celestial bodies. Like that White House Office of Science NASA has announced that it must present a strategy to introduce Lunar Time (LTC; Coordinated Lunar Time) by the end of 2026. For example, atomic clocks on Earth's satellites could be used to set a uniform lunar time, it was said—analogous to the timing of multiple atomic clocks to determine Coordinated Universal Time UTC.

The White House Science Office justified the call to introduce uniform lunar time with reference to the theory of relativity. Accordingly, time appears to move at different speeds in different regions of space, depending on gravity and one's own speed. For an observer on the Moon, the Earth-based clock runs an average of 58.7 microseconds (58.7 millionths of a second) slower per Earth day. However, this small change may be important for accurate location determination and communication.

So far, lunar missions have been based on UTC universal time without synchronizing with each other. Because of the small number of tasks, this is not a problem. However, the United States and other players plan to send men to the moon again in the near future and also plan to set up permanent bases. According to the US government, a consistent definition of lunar time is “fundamental” to the safe operation of spacecraft and satellites. NASA is therefore advised to coordinate with various US ministries and international partners when developing lunar time.