a The White House has joined in what the European Space Agency has already advocated and wants NASA to develop a new time zone for the moon — Lunar Coordinated Time (LTC).
The BBC explains that the problem lies in the difference in the strength of the gravitational field on the Moon, which causes time to pass faster compared to Earth. This equates to about 58.7 microseconds per day, which, although it does not sound like much, can have a significant impact on spacecraft synchronization.
Catherine Heymans, director of the Real Observatory in Edinburgh, said: “This basic theory of gravity in our universe has the important consequence that time passes differently in different places in the universe. Gravity on the moon is a little weaker and clocks work differently.” Scotland, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
On Earth, time is measured by hundreds of atomic clocks spread across the planet. It measures the change in the energetic state of atoms to record time in nanoseconds. If it were placed on the Moon, as the station explains, in 50 years it would be one second faster.
“The atomic clock on the Moon will have a different rhythm than the clock on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s chief communications and navigation officer. “It makes sense that when you go to another body, like the Moon or Mars, everyone has a different rhythm.” His own heart.”
The White House's goal is for this new time zone to help coordinate national and private efforts to reach the Moon.
However, it should be noted that this is not just a NASA effort, as the European Space Agency (ESA) also wants to set a time zone for the Moon that is internationally acceptable.
For the moon to have its own time zone, there must be an agreement between countries and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.
All missions launched so far have time zones coinciding with those of Earth, but since there are plans to establish a space station on the Moon, it is clear that it will soon be necessary to define a more specific time zone.
The United States wants this time zone to be ready in 2026, in time for its manned mission to the moon, the first since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Read also: Astronauts returning to the moon will take plants to see how they grow
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