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The Moon: According to an internal document, international treaties may be necessary for the introduction of lunar time
Photo: Everson Bressan / Fotoarena / IMAGO
There is no official time on the moon, but this could be a problem, especially for international collaboration expeditions. Now the US government is said to have instructed the space agency NASA to set a uniform time standard for the moon and other celestial bodies. This emerges from a document that is exclusively available to the Reuters news agency.
According to the paper from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) of the US Presidential Office, a plan for the introduction of coordinated lunar time (LTC) should be developed by the end of 2026. The LTC is intended to be used, among other things, by spaceships and lunar satellites that require precise time measurement.
In the letter, OSTP chief Arati Prabhakar points out, according to Reuters news agency, that a clock on Earth would run an average of 58.7 microseconds slower per Earth day for someone on the moon. In addition, further fluctuations would occur, which is why lunar time would deviate even further from time on Earth.
On Earth, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) serves as the basis for calculating local time. For Germany, Central European Time (CET) applies with UTC+1, during summer time CEST with UTC+2. The standard is based on a global network of atomic clocks. According to the insider, it could also become necessary for the LTC to install atomic clocks on the moon.
According to the document, international treaties may be necessary for the introduction of lunar time. The fact that the USA takes the lead in defining such a standard will “benefit all spacefaring nations”.
NASA is targeting September 2026 for the first moon landing by an astronaut since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s. Initially, four astronauts are scheduled to orbit the moon and return in 2025.
Other countries also have similar ambitions and are showing interest in potential raw materials. China has said the first taikonauts should reach the moon by 2030. India has set a deadline of 2040.
spr/Reuters