NASA’s move to develop a new clock for the Moon – Last Minute Science Technology News
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The clock in question will not be a time zone like on Earth, but a time reference specific to the Moon.
Because there is less gravity on the Moon than on Earth, time passes 58.7 microseconds faster per day. For this reason, the White House instructed NASA and other US agencies to prepare a time reference system specific to the Moon by working with international agencies.
NASA Space Communications and Navigation Program (SCaN) officer Kevin Coggins said in his statement, “An atomic clock on the Moon operates at a different speed than on Earth. When you go to another celestial body such as the Moon or Mars, each has its own heart rate.” It makes sense.” said.
Coggins stated that everything on the Moon will operate on accelerated lunar time, but there will be no summer and winter time as on Earth.
Coggins noted that the astronauts NASA had previously sent to the Moon wore watches, but seconds were not as important as they are now; He emphasized that even microseconds are important in high-tech systems such as GPS, satellites, complex computer and communication systems.
A PLAN WILL BE PREPARED FOR THE MOON TIME BY THE END OF 2026
The White House wants NASA to produce a preliminary idea by the end of this year and a final plan by the end of 2026.
The International Space Station, in near-Earth orbit, will continue to use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), but NASA needs to determine where the new “space time” will be put into effect, as even on Earth time speeds up and slows down, creating “leap seconds.”
In 2023, the European Space Agency announced that a common time reference should be developed for the Moon, where one day lasts 29.5 Earth days. NASA aims to send astronauts to orbit the Moon within the framework of the Artemis Mission to conduct scientific investigations in September 2025.
NASA announced on January 10 that the crew’s landing on the Moon was postponed to 2026 due to safety concerns about the spacecraft, as well as problems with the astronauts’ suits and landing vehicles.
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